Diplomatic Relations
by bswindle20
Summary: When Naruto and Temari are choosen to became liasions for their respective villages, they stay in close contact with each other during their work. This leads to a romance that neither expected, but both wanted. NarutoxTemari. Other pairings. Lemons.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto. If I did then I wouldn't be poor and living off of ramen.

**AN**: Hi, this is bswindle20. This is my first attempt at writing a fic so be kind.

Here lately I have been reading a LOT of Naruto fics with different pairings, but I noticed a pattern with the Naruto/Temari fics in general. In all of the ones I have come across (which is a pretty good number.) all of them either start with a horrible tragedy or an arranged marriage. However, if they don't, then they get a horrible tragedy in the middle and one or both die at the end. But that is not all of the themes; almost all of them end with them in the afterlife. I don't know if it's a weird kinda twilight zone thing or it just happens. I am tired of it myself, so I am going to change it. All the other pairings get the chance so I'm going to give it to this pairing because this is one of the more unique pairings in my opinion. Rant over, hope you enjoy.

XxxxX

**Chapter 1**

He was ahead of schedule slightly on the return trip from his mission to the Land of Tea to retrieve the documents that Tsunade had ordered him to get. But that fact did not make him slow his pace in the least, if anything he increased his speed to the limit. He was determined to get back today so he could get a few hours of down time with his friends and do whatever they wanted. He moved like a ghost through the trees as he entered the Land of Fire. Which for him is saying something.

Naruto was no longer the shortest in his group like he was at the academy and in his gennin days. Now at the age of 23 he was 6'1 with a lean build and well developed muscles all over his tan body. All baby fat long gone from hours and hours of intense training; leaving him with chiseled features and a hard body. However the bright, spiky blonde hair, whisker marks, and his piercing blue eyes remained the same.

He also was not the idiot that rushed in without thinking anymore either. After he became a chunin, Naruto started to study more and pay attention to his surroundings. His maturity level also had increased dramatically as well. As a result, he was promoted to jonin the following year at the age of 16, the first one out of his friends besides Neji.

He also no longer wore cloths that screamed HEAR I AM, COME KILL ME either. He wore black steel toed boots with the standard black ninja pants. His kunai holster on his thigh with tape underneath to hold it in place; other weapon pouches were hooked to his belt. On the small of his back he wore two ANBU style swords straight across with a hilt on either side of his hips. He wore black fingerless gloves with a metal plate across the knuckles. His shirt was a black tank top under a mesh shirt with the standard issue jonin vest on top. The first's necklace still hung around his neck. His headband was now tied around his arm instead of around his forehead, since he had allowed his hair to grow out to match his father's style it just looked better down.

As Konoha's massive front gate appeared, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. He was back four hours ahead of his schedule, a personal best for him. As he slowed down to a walk he entered the village. When he approached the check in desk he heard a familiar voice yell, "Hey Naruto-sensei!!!!!"

That made a huge smile break out on the blonde's face and responded, "How's it goin' Ko?"

Konohamaru replied "Good, can't wait to finish today. This assignment sucks. It's just soooooo boring for someone with my skill level." Naruto just laughed in response; that sounded just like him in his younger days he thought.

"When do you get off Ko? We need to get together with the other two and have a mini reunion."

Ko sighed "Not for awhile, Baa-chan's having me do this as a punishment for putting hot peppers in her sake earlier this week. Udon and Moegi are off on border patrol for helping me. They won't be back till next week." Ko had got the genius idea from some of the old pranks Naruto use to do when he was younger. He and his teammates had taken up the mantle of being Konoha's pranksters after Naruto became a chunin. However he got caught after Tsunade over heard him and his two friends bragging about it to Jiraiya. It also didn't help their case that she overheard it while at the hot springs that he was peeking at either. He might be up and round in a few more days in the ICU.

Naruto could hardly breathe he was laughing so hard. He even had a few tears run down his face. Ko just stuck his tongue out at his long time friend and sensei. After Naruto finally recovered, he said with a stern expression "Have you learned nothing from me about stealth and handling valuable information until the time is right? Maybe you three needed to be my students longer than you where if you are going to screw up such a great prank with careless use of information."

When Ko, Udon, and Moegi where put on their gennin squad, Naruto had requested to be there sensei after he was promoted. They had been a team for one year before they took the chunin exams. His team had the best times, scores, and everything else in the exam that year. Needless to say they all became chunin; however Naruto was their squad captain until he received the promotion to ANBU when he turned 18.

Ko just looked down ashamed until he heard more laughter coming from Naruto, "Just do better next time or I'm not going to give you three any more of my prize winning prank ideas."

Ko nodded and said "We will sensei, because this job sucks!!! Where have you been the last two days anyway?"

"The Land of Tea getting Baa-chan some documents she requested. Just the standard A-rank retrieval mission, nothing special."

Ko's eyes became wide, "Y-You completed a four day mission in just two days???"

Naruto nodded "I wanted to have a few days to hang out with the guys and relax. We have all been busy on missions for two months and have not seen each other besides passing." Ko nodded in understanding, Naruto's age group were all high level jonin and were almost always on missions. They usually got a few days to a week off every month or two so they could catch up and relax.

Naruto signed the check-in sheet and looked at Ko, "Well I better go see Baa-chan and give her these." He took the documents out of his pack, "When you three are done with your _assignments_ we should train and grab some ramen. I expect to see you three take the jonin exam this year so think about." Naruto received a nod and a grin, so he headed toward the Hokage tower.

XxxxX

Tsunade sat at her desk in the Hokage tower sipping sake and doing paperwork as usual. She just got finished authorizing a week off for the Konoha 11 effective as soon as they all reported back from there respective missions. Naruto was expected to return in two days from his retrieval mission so he was the last of the group to return. The others should be back in a day or two before him from their respective missions.

She paused while reading a report and smiled fondly. '_Naruto, my little brother_' she thought. Over the years the two of them have gotten to be very close. She didn't even mind when he called her Baa-chan anymore, however he was the only one to say it without getting yelled at or hit on the head.

He had really changed over the years since she became the fifth she thought. He was one of her best shinobi, even among his group of friends. Case in point was when he was the only one to get an ANBU position out of the group. Also after he was in a year he was promoted to ANBU Captain, he was over all ANBU operations until he was 22 and decided to retire and go back to being a jonin. He still runs some operations and oversees everything still. However she is the only one that knows that outside of ANBU itself. It was after his 'retirement' that she officially named him her successor when she steps down.

She had never seen him as happy as he was when she told him the news.

_Flashback_

_Naruto and the rest of the Konoha 11 were in her office along with Shizuna, Iruka, Jiriaya, and Kakashi. Tsunade was behind her desk trying not to give anything away with the news she was about to deliver. 'I have called you all here today to give you some news.'_

'_You're not pregnant are you?' Jiriaya asked with a lecherous grin on his face._

'_No you idiot!!!!!!! Shut up so I can tell you!!' She took a deep breath and continued, 'The news I wanted to give you all has to do with who will take my place when I step down.' She looked at Naruto and saw him stiffen slightly in his captain uniform. She grinned and looked straight at Naruto and said, 'Congratulations Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, you are officially the 6__th__ Hokage of Konoha.'_

_He looked at her like his brain shut down and was trying to kick start itself to respond. Everyone was looking at him and Tsunade was getting a little worried. She was about to move around the desk to check on him when he suddenly jumped across the desk and put her in a spin cracking hug yelling 'THANK YOU BAA-CHAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WILL BE THE BEST HOKAGE EVER!!!!!!!' She whispered in his ear 'Your welcome little brother. I love you very much.'_

_End Flashback_

She smiled at the memory. After that he became her apprentice so he could learn the ins and outs of the job. He also still went on normal missions and ran ANBU in addition to his work with her. That had been a little over a year ago. Now that he had achieved his dream, she wanted him to achieve another one as well.

That would be finding a woman and settling down. Not that it was an impossible task, people's opinion of him changed over the years. He was respected by everyone in the village and even had a fan club of village girls that were vying for his attention. However it was a time issue and he was very busy with all of his duties.

This fact made it impossible for him to date a civilian. They just could not cope with the hours and time apart, also with the dangers that the job had as well. That is why most shinobi only date other shinobi, they understand the risks and the time issues as well. However, Naruto had not expressed an interest in any of the female shinobi lately to her knowledge, and most of them in his circle of friends were already in relationships.

On the flip side of the issue was that many of the lower ranking shinobi, jonins included, were a little wary of approaching the group or individual members. They had a reputation that preceded all of them, and for people who did not know them they were an intimating group. However once you got to know them you were fine, but you had to be invited and accepted by all first. That was not an easy feat, so there were maybe 10 or less people outside of the 11 in their circle. All of those were their sensei's, Naruto's gennin team, Anko, and Ibiki. To say the least it was a very powerful and impressive group. And from what she had heard lately, they were not looking to expand that anytime soon.

While Tsunade was lost in thought about Naruto's love life, Shizuna poked her head in the door and said, "Lady Tsunade, Naruto is back from his mission."

She left and he came in, closed the door, and said "Hey Baa-chan." And sat down to give his report.

She looked at him "Your early, about two days early to be exact."

"Yeah I know, I pushed myself so I could have some time off with the others to relax and catch up. Here are the documents you requested."

He handed them to her. "So I take it you had no problems or anything?"

"No, no problems at all." He stated off handedly.

She set the documents aside after flipping through them quickly, folded her hands in front of her face and looked at him "I might as well tell you since you are the first back, that you all have a week's time off with pay as usual to relax. However it does not start for two days still. Since _someone_ had to be an over achiever and finish early, you still have to work on your in-village duties until then."

He looked at her and smiled "I sorta figured that out when you told me about the time off." He said with a hint of sarcasm. "Thanks for that by the way, we were over due for it. I'll report to HQ in the morning around 8, then come here after lunch unless I have more to deal with than I am anticipating. That work for you Baa-chan?"

She nodded and said "That will be fine. Gives me the morning to slack off and relax." He rolled his eyes at her while she took a drink and refilled her cup.

"Anyway Naruto before you go, how goes your love life? Anything or anyone new that I should know about?"

He snorted "Noisy much Baa-chan? Naw still single, but the fan club is getting annoying again." Tsunade laughed lightly at that. His fan club would get on his nerves every so often and he would have to watch his movements and lay low until they laid off which never took too long since none of them were shinobi that she knew of so it was relatively easy.

She sighed "Well maybe you'll find someone soon."

"Yeah maybe. Well I'm going to get lunch and go home. See you in the morning Baa-chan." He got up and walked out the door closing it behind him.

Tsunade sighed and thought '_I hope you find someone soon, I wanna see some grandkids from you!!!!'_ With that thought, she went back to her paperwork that never seemed to diminish in volume.

XxxxX

**AN**: Well here is the first chapter. Let me know what you think. Also let me know if I misspelled a name somewhere so I can know for future reference. Until next time. Later.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: Don't own it, enough said.

**AN**: Hey again. So here is the next chapter. No Temari until next chapter. I am going to take my time to develop the story. I hate when I read fics and the characters seem like they are on crack with everything happening very fast. This will be a long story. I have a lot planned for these two. Chapter length will be sporadic for now, but nothing too short. Enjoy!!!

XxxxX

**Chapter 2**

After his meeting with Tsunade, Naruto left the tower in search of lunch. With the destination already in mind, he headed toward Irichirakus. While he was walking he started to think about the conversation he and Tsunade had about his love life or lack there of. He really didn't mind being single, but he would like to have someone though. Deep down everyone does whether they admit it or not, he was no different.

The only problem was there was no one he could really think of. All of his female friends were in relationships and it would be a cold day in hell before he asked one of his…fan girls. That thought alone gave him a full body shiver just thinking about it.

Also along those lines it had to be a fellow shinobi, it would not work otherwise. Civilian-shinobi relationships never worked out. It would for awhile before the time apart, the long hours, and the stress involved would eventually take its toll. It was worse if the shinobi died while on duty and left their civilian counterpart alone. All in all it always ended in heartache for one or both parties involved. So that option was closed all together.

The other problem was he could not have someone weak either.

She had to be strong, capable, and good at what she does. Since he was the last of two very strong and well respected clans, she could not be weak in any since because he had to start rebuilding his clan.

With all of his thinking he just about missed his favorite ramen stand. So he quickly ducked inside and took a seat. The ramen cook hollered out "Hey Naruto! How are you doing today? What can I get for you?"

Naruto smiled "I'm fine old man, just tired and hungry. I'll have two miso to start with vegetables, and a bottle of sake." Contrary to popular belief, Naruto did eat something other than ramen. He changed his diet when he was still a gennin. Since he was thirteen he only ate ramen twice every week with vegetables included. With all of the training he did it was impossible to keep up with the physical demands without a major overhaul in the diet department. The sake was added after he turned sixteen.

After his order was taken, the ramen cooks daughter, Ayame, appeared from the back. Naruto saw her and smiled, "Hey, how are you doing? Haven't seen you in awhile." He had always liked her; she was nice to him even when others were not. In a way she was like an older sister to him.

She looked down sheepishly and blushed "I've been seeing someone lately and have been helping at his family's restaurant when he is not on duty or on missions out of the village."

Naruto looked at her shocked, "Who? Anyone I know since his is obviously a shinobi?"

She simply nodded "You know him. His is one of the 11. It's Choji."

Naruto took a moment to process this. Choji had not seen anyone in years that he knew of. When they turned 16, he was seeing Ino and that relationship ended after two years. Ino had gotten over her extreme diet phase when she was fourteen, and started training seriously as a medic. They had a good relationship and were good for each other in turn. He calmed Ino down some, and she boosted his confidence in himself and his abilities.

However it was not meant to be, they decided that they were better friends so they ended it. Six months later Ino got involved with Shino and they have been together ever since. Those two had one of the best relationship Naruto had ever seen. She had brought Shino out of his shell and he calmed her down even more. In fact Shino was planning to ask Ino to marry him soon.

However, Choji never found anyone. He would date around a bit like the rest of them, but it never lasted long. So Naruto was happy for his long time friend that he found love.

His family also owned the best steakhouse in Konoha, so it made since that she would help him out since he had always worked there when he had time.

She also admired his abilities as a shinobi as well. Now civilian-shinobi relationships never work out, but this was not the case here. Ayame used to be a shinobi when she was younger, and a pretty damn good one at that if Naruto remembered correctly. She had to retire after she was promoted to chunin because on a mission she got hit by a very powerful lightning jutsu that damaged some of her chakra coils and nerves. This injury caused her to not be able to perform most jutsu's and her speed was compromised as well. However some of the damage was repaired and she regained some abilities, but not enough for an active duty shinobi. So with that she was forced to retire, however she did some in-village shinobi work still to this day.

Naruto finally responded after thinking about it for what felt like five minutes, "That's great. You two will be good for each other." He looked at her slyly "At least you both will never starve." She wacked him on the head with a towel for that comment. He just laughed at that.

This was how the cook found them "Here's your order Naruto. Enjoy." Naruto thanked him and started to eat.

He looked back to Ayame, "No in all seriousness, I am happy for you both. So how long have you been seeing each other?"

She smiled softly, "About a month, but I haven't seen him in about a week."

Naruto stopped eating, shocked '_Man didn't know that, shows that we really need the time to catch up. Wonder what else has gone on that no one knows about?_' After he recovered he said "Well I have some good news then. Baa-chan has given us all a week off that starts in two days. So you can see him then. Make sure you come hang out with all of us at the usual place. I'm sure Choji will want to show you off." She blushed at the complement and agreed.

While he ate, Ayame filled him in on some details of their relationship and normal happenings around the village. After about an hour, six bowls of ramen, and 3 sake bottles later he said his goodbyes and started on his way home.

Naruto no longer lived in the tiny, run down apartment of his academy and gennin days. When he found about being the 4th's son when he was 15, he was given the Namikaze estate and his inheritance as well.

So to say he was well off was a bit of an understatement. The Namikaze clan was one of the wealthiest clans in Konoha besides the Hyuuga and the former Uchiha. It also had a guaranteed council seat as well. Naruto would serve on the council when he could, but he was usually was only there when a major vote was taking place. Tsunade always kept him up to date, so he really didn't miss anything too important. '_I probably should sit in on a meeting or two while I have the time_' he thought.

He made his way to the estate district of Konoha. The Namikaze was next to the Hyuuga on the left and the Nara estate on the right. As Naruto was passing the Hyuuga's, he heard a familiar voice yell "Wait Naruto-nee-san!!!!" He stopped and turned around to see Hinata's younger sister Hanabi running toward him. He waited for her to catch up and get her breathing under control. When she did she spoke "I have been looking for you for two days. Where were you?"

He smiled slightly and laughed "Hanabi I have been on a mission for two days! I just got back about two hours ago."

He smirked at her, "I never knew I had to inform you whenever I leave. Do I need to tell Ko something?" She blushed a bright red that would have put Hinata's blushes to shame in their younger days. He just laughed at her until she recovered from her embarrassment.

When she did, she glared at him, "No you don't, excuse me for wanting to ask you to help Hinata get me ready for the jonin exam. And while we are at it stop teasing me about our relationship; you think after three years you guys would stop!!" Hanabi and Ko had been dating since they turned 15. Everyone in and around the 11 would still tease them about it because they _always_ got embarrassed about it and started yelling. It was just too much fun to stop.

He just laughed at her reaction why she continued to glare at him. When he got himself under control he said "Not apologizing for it. And yes I will help you. I'm going to help your boyfriend and his team as well. Hinata can work with you on family style on your own time. I know she wanted to work with all of you on advanced chakra control and tracking as a group. Does that work alright?"

Hanabi nodded, "Yes that will be fine and thank you for your help. By the way have you seen Ko?"

"Yeah he is at the main gate checking in people."

She shook her head "Still, he has been on that post as punishment for a week already."

Naruto smiled "And he still has two weeks to go. When they all get off punishment we can start to work with you four when Hinata's and my schedule allows. So let Ko and the others know about it. Also in two days we are getting our week off so have Ko bring you to the place."

She nodded and headed into the Hyuuga estate. Naruto continued walking toward home. He smiled when he thought about Hanabi. They had become close through the years since he was close friends with Hinata and Neji.

His musing was interrupted when he reached the front gate to his estate. The estate itself was large, but it was very homey. The house set in the middle of eight acres of forested land around the edges while the middle was well kept grass and beautiful gardens. The house itself was three stories total done in the traditional style. The gate was iron with the clan seal on it, the swirl pattern. Naruto unlocked the gate and went inside. He walked on the path threw the dense trees to the house; which cannot be seen from the gate itself so it gave extra privacy along with the high walls surrounding the estate.

When he got to the front door he unlocked it and stepped inside. The entry way was spacious, but not too big. The floor was light colored cut stone tile with dark wood walls. He took his boots off and placed them on the dark wood shelf and continued toward the kitchen. The first floor was the main living space with the living room, kitchen, dining room, and a formal tea room which Naruto never used, so it became storage space. All the floors where the dark wood from the entry. The almost black floor showed off the redness of the cherry wood of the walls. The furnishings were all original to the house. Naruto added some personal things in his room and study, but he kept the main floor simple. The floor plan itself was very open with lots of windows for light.

The kitchen was the newest part of the house besides the bathrooms and hot spring. They were all very dated when Naruto got the house, so he had them upgraded. The kitchen now had white marble counter tops, with brushed steel appliances, and cherry cabinets. He checked the fridge to make sure it was well stocked for the time he was home.

Naruto did not have many people employed at the estate. He had grounds keepers and a cleaning person and that was it. With him gone a lot on missions or just general duties he could not do it himself. It also worked well because his house was always clean and well stocked for when he came back.

Satisfied with the amount of supplies, he went up the stairs to the master suite. The second floor was all bed rooms including his. There were five with a private bathroom each. Most were never used, but when some friends from Suna came, they stayed here. He always kept three bedrooms ready for them the same way he always had a room ready at their estate in Suna. They were all fairly large rooms with the same floor and walls as downstairs. They each had a queen size bed, dresser, mirror, bedside table, desk, a small weapons rack was also added, and a chair with a small fireplace. The bathrooms were also quite large as well. They all had a large tub and a shower done with white marble with a mirror, sink, toilet, and vanity. Each had a spectacular view of the gardens.

In three of the rooms, there were some personal touches as well like a decorative fan, small puppets, or sand gardens. Other than that they were all the same. At the end of the hall was the master suite, Naruto's bedroom.

The master suite was the biggest room on the floor. The bedroom looked like the others in style, but bigger and more personal touches were added. There was a white stone fireplace with a black leather couch in front of it with a coffee table. On the mantle were some pictures that his parents had and when his mother was pregnant with him.

On the table were signed copies of every single one of Jiraiya's Icha Icha books. This was not a well known fact, actually no one knew, not even Jiraiya. However unlike Kakashi, they never left this room, and sure as hell never left the house. Besides they were good reading.

On the opposite wall from the fire place was a king size bed with a deep blue comforter and matching sheets. There was a bedside table with his team 7 photo on it. The dresser was on the wall next to the bed. Next to the dresser was a huge walk-in closet, however most of it was empty. A guy can only have so much clothing. He also put his weapons rack in the closet since it had so much open space.

On the walls were pictures that he had acquired over the years. Most were of him and his friends at various moments like when they all got promoted to chunin, jonin, got there gennin teams, random shots of them all out drinking together for the first time. Others were when Naruto got promoted to ANBU and when he made captain. Also after he was named the 6th by Tsunade. All of his friends were at least in one picture. Even the sand siblings had pictures too. However more pictures were in albums that were more special or private.

The bathroom was like the others, but it had a Jacuzzi style tub and a shower.

When Naruto entered his bedroom he went in his closet and unhooked all of his weapons and put them on the rack. Then he changed out of his gear and into a pair of grey sweat pants and a tight black t-shirt with the leaf village symbol in red on his chest.

After he was comfortable he left his room and went up to the next floor were the studies, library, and vault was located. This floor was mostly open since the library was on it. It took up almost half the floor. Over the years the clan had amassed a huge collection of books on every thinkable subject.

However the jutsu scrolls and other valuables were stored in the vault which was a forth of the floor and was packed with information and clan heirlooms. When Naruto first got the house he read every single book, scroll, journal, etc. that was in the library and vault with the help of the Mass Shadow Clone Jutsu.

While he was studying he also found out that his clan had the closest thing to a bloodline he could have; it was a huge amount of chakra and the ability to learn and perform any jutsu without much trouble or physical strain. It also mentioned that his clan had a strong affinity for wind related jutsus as well. Needless to say Naruto now had a huge arsenal of jutsu, original and clan related. It's also why his name in the bingo books is the Second Yellow Flash.

There were two studies that took up the remainder of the floor. However he only used one. Naruto's study was his fathers, the other was his mothers. He moved the documents and personal items into his office and left the other one open. A certain red headed Kazekage used it when he was staying at the estate while in Konoha. His study was lined with book cases along two of the four walls. Each was practically full with personal journals, picture albums, and often used books. The desk was carved from cherry and was very large. The view from the window on the back wall had a view of the natural hot spring on the property, as well as the Hokage monument.

Naruto sat down behind his desk and started looking over reports from ANBU over the two days he was gone to the Land of Tea. He needed to know what went on and if there were any new developments in the spy network that he should now about. After he read all of the vital information, to find that nothing had really happened which is good, he got to the boring crap that no one cares about but has to deal with. While reading a budget request that would be denied because some idiot wanted to change the uniform color from black to green, Naruto's mind started to wander back to the information about Choji and Ayame's relationship.

Naruto smiled slightly when he thought about it. He really was happy for both of them, now if he only had someone life would be great. He liked being in a relationship, the only two serious ones he had had been great while they lasted and Naruto wanted that kind of companionship again. He was tired of being alone in life.

His first relationship had been with Hinata. They got together when they turned 16 and dated until they were 18. She got the nerve to ask him out the night of her birthday. They had a lot of fun together and it was a good first commented relationship. While they did have a great relationship; they never truly fell in love so they separated.

It turned out to be a very good thing because two months after they separated; Kiba finally got the nerve to ask her out. He had been secretly in love with her for three years. They are still together and are a perfect match. Since then Hinata became an excellent tracker and a pretty good medic as well. She also is no longer so shy, but now will speak her mind and tell people were to get off. Her father named her official heir when she turned 21. However Kiba never changed _too_ much, but he is a little more quit than before.

After Hinata and Naruto broke-up they became very close friends. In fact she is his best friend outside of Gaara and Shikamaru. That is also how he got so close to Neji and Hanabi over the years.

His second and last major relationship was when he dated Sakura. They had dated for one year. It had not gone well at all. They were very good friends, but they never could develop a romantic relationship with each other. He wanted someone a little more laid back than her natural hyper activity and mood swings. After they ended it, they remained good friends with a brother-sister dynamic to it.

Four months later Sakura started dating Lee, and have been together ever since. They are a seemingly perfect match, both full of energy. Sakura became a very skilled medic, while getting taijutsu training from Lee. His and Gai's style worked well with her charka infused strength. In return she helped Lee to learn how to use charka in has fighting more than he was already. Both are very skilled and very powerful shinobi. One extremely good thing is that she was able to rein in Lee a little bit, so he acts normal most of the time. However if he gets drunk, your screwed.

Naruto was brought out of his thoughts by the growing of his stomach. When he looked at the clock it was already dinner time. So he went down to the kitchen to make dinner. While he was cooking, he decided to go to bed early tonight because he needed to work out before go to HQ in the morning. '_Also will probably read a little Icha Icha before bed…_' he thought.

XxxxX

At 5.00 am, Naruto was out of bed and heading for his run. He ran about 10 laps around Konoha with chakra weights, so it was about a 10 mile run. After his run, he came back to do some weight training in the gym. He had set one up on the property so he could work out easier. By 6.30 he was showered, dressed, and eating breakfast. At 6.45 he was on his way to ANBU HQ.

When he entered the building everyone around stopped what they were doing, bowed, and said "Welcome Back Naruto-sama." Naruto bowed his head and everyone went back to what they were doing.

His assistant, Yamato, came up to him, "Glad to see you back. Everything is just like you left it."

Naruto looked at him and smiled. They had meet while in ANBU together and became good friends. When Naruto 'retired' he put Yamato in charge while he was on missions so everything could still run smoothly without him here all the time. Yamamoto wrote a weekly report of everything that went on so Naruto was always well informed.

Naruto replied "Thanks. I looked over the reports last night when I got home, so I need you to do the monthly inspection tomorrow and have the files of the possible recruits on my desk by tonight."

Yamato nodded. "Also screen the budget requests from now on and only pass the ones that matter. I don't need to deal with stupid ones like changing the uniform color."

Yamato laughed lightly, "I saw that, thought you might enjoy it."

Naruto rolled his eyes and continued "I also need to speak with the head of all squads that have reported back while I was gone for the usual debriefing. After that pull up all missions to be done so I can assign and brief the squads. Anything else that needs to be taken care of you and I can discuss it later."

With that both headed off to start a very busy morning. _'I hope that Baa-chan does something before I show up. I've got enough to do as it is._' He thought while heading to the debriefing room.

XxxxX

While sitting on her couch sipping some sake in her office, Tsunade sneezed, _'Naruto's probably talking about me not doing any work.'_ She laughed and made three shadow clones to do the never ending stack of paperwork. "Might as well help him out I guess" she muttered to herself, literally.

While the clones did the boring stuff, she looked over the latest letter she received this morning from Gaara about a little assignment they were scheming about to get their two favorite blondes together. They had finally got all of it figured out, and it should work quite nicely. Not to mention they both had and needed more experience in this area as it was. They both had a sneaking suspicion that they both liked each other. They had been good friends for years so all it needed was a little time to develop. Which this new assignment would give them plenty of. Tsunade was planning on telling him about his new assignment tomorrow. She still had to write up the specifics. To her knowledge Gaara was going to assign Temari tomorrow as well.

With that thought she finished her reply and called for Shizuna to have this delivered as soon as possible. She got up from the couch and looked at the clones, "You three stay here and work. I'm going to get the council reports for Naruto and assign missions."

They all three replied with a "Hai." With that she was off.

XxxxX

It was well after noon before Naruto left HQ for the Hokage tower. He had the reports for Tsunade of the going on's as well as the completed budget report and request, completed mission reports, the current mission assignments, and finally a preliminary list of possible recruits. To say he had a busy morning was a huge understatement.

When he entered her office he was more than a little happy to see all the paperwork done. He closed the door and sat down. "Hear are the documents that you needed from ANBU." He gave them to her and relaxed for the first time that day.

She looked over the reports and was pleased at what she saw. Since Naruto became head of ANBU, it had run smooth and efficiently. It was great practice for running the village.

She put them aside and looked at him, "As always good work. Now this afternoon will be easy compared to your morning. Just review the council reports."

"Thank you sooooo much for that. Had a very busy morning. I'm letting Yamato handle more of the small things and only let me do major things."

She nodded, "Good you need to delegate more. Also why I am thinking about it, I am assigning you a new position tomorrow so be here early after the council meeting." She added almost as an after thought.

He looked at her and nodded before he started reading the council reports. He thought '_Something else to do? Well Yamato can do 95% of the work. I only need to do the major things. He will take over anyway when I become Hokage.'_

While he was reading Tsunade was thinking '_You will love this assignment Naruto, you need to have more fun. Gaara and I will make sure of it.'_

**AN**: Well here is chapter 2. Hope it lived up to your expectations. Temari will be in the nest chapter for sure. Review, it makes me write faster. Until next time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: Don't own. Except the plot.

**AN**: Hey everyone. Thanks for the attention you are paying the story. Huge ego buster with all the alerts, reviews, and favorites, they make me write faster. Also I am modeling Temari a little after myself, she kinda acts like me in the show anyway.

Just so you know this story is slightly OOC, but that is how I want it.

Some people that have reviewed are complaining about that Naruto isn't Naruto anymore with the changes. However if you are willing to bear with me, you will see his unique traits that make Naruto well, Naruto. It will come out when he is around friends and not on duty or in the public eye. Also if you only read stories that are like cannon then you are missing out on some great fics. I'm not trying to sound mean or anything but, it is my fic and I will write it as I see fit. If you want perfect cannon, read the manga not fanfiction. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I want to hear them just don't go on about the OOC's in the story. Because personally, I read fanfiction so that I can see how fans put their own spin on things that make a great story that we all know and love seen in a different light. Okay rant over, again I am not being mean just stating my personal opinion.

Also I have gotten reviews about breaking up the conversations within the text. I am doing that from now on. Like I said, this is my first fic so I am still trying to figure everything out. Anymore suggestions will be helpful so I can improve my writing and write the best story I can for you guys. I will go back and repost the first two chapters at a later date.

Keep the reviews coming. Wow this got long fast. Enjoy…

XxxxX

**Chapter 3**

It was early in the morning, but already hot. That was just how the desert was, and Temari wouldn't have it any other way. The one thing she could do without was the sun, at least this morning. Gaara had given her the day off and she was sleeping in, or trying to at the moment. She decided to just get up until she looked at the clock and saw that it was only 6 am '_Oh hell no' _she thought before just lying on her back and staring at the ceiling.

Temari had changed a little over the years. She was 24 and stood about 5'10. Her body had become more toned, and had developed curves. She had also gained more muscle as well, but not overly so. Her chest had also developed since her younger years, she was well endowed. Her hair was slightly longer than in her teenage years but not by much. She still wore it in her signature 4 ponytails. Her light blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and her light tan remained unchanged.

However she was a strikingly beautiful woman. She often turned heads where she went with her classic and sleek beauty. Her nickname among the perverts in the village was the 'desert rose.' However she preferred her nickname that was in the bingo books 'Rose of the Wind'. It sounded better with the deadly threat that her name involved.

While she lay in bed staring up at the ceiling cursing the sun to the deepest pits of hell, her mind began to wander. She just jumped from topic to topic without really any recognition. That was until she thought of her friends in Konoha. She sighed deeply, '_I miss them so much. It's been at least six months since I saw them._' During the last six months Temari had been very busy with high profile missions and helping Gaara. As one of Suna's best jonin, most of the high profile missions went to her and her brother, Kankoro the puppet master of Suna. In addition to that, she also helped Gaara with his duties as the 5th Kazekage. Her brother did most of the assisting, but she helped out when she could. With everything going on she had not been able to go to Konoha to visit, and it bothered her a lot.

The Konoha 11 as they were known, were her only friends. The only people she had in Suna were her two brothers and their former sensei and that was it. Most people tended to stay away from her because of her brother, even though his demon was under control enough to even sleep, people still held some fear toward him and by extension her. This made having friends here pretty hard.; forget having a relationship all together, it was damn near impossible. '_Suna has a better chance of becoming a tropical paradise before I meet anyone here._' She thought sarcastically.

She heaved another sigh at that thought. The only serious relationship she had ever been in was with Shikamaru. It had not lasted more than a year before they broke it off and that had been when she was 17 and he was 16. The distance and not having schedules line up were too hard to deal with. He was also just too lazy to really put the work in for it to last. He had gotten better over the years, but he still was Konoha's number one lazy ass.

However she remained good friends with him and everyone else. Nobody blamed her or him for anything, besides they were never in love anyway. All of the other relationships were very short and never amounted to anything.

On that depressing thought she decided to just get up and go have breakfast with some tea. So she got up and threw on her robe over her shorts and tank top she slept in and went down stairs. The estate was empty except for her, but that was fine. She didn't want to talk right now as it was.

The Sabaku estate was just like any other in Suna. It had basic white walls, both inside and out, dark wood floors, a few windows, and it was two stories tall. Their house had few furnishings, but it was enough. The main floor had the living room, kitchen, and a formal dining room which was never used. The living room was basic with a couch, chair, and a table. The kitchen had a table and chairs, steel appliances, white marble countertops, and dark wood cabinets.

The bedrooms were on the top floor with a private bathroom each. Her brothers each had a separate room while she took the master suite. There was one spare room, but it was filled with a few bonsai trees and some pictures of his friends. It was always ready, just like her room in his estate in Konoha.

Temari's room was the largest of the five. She had a small seating area with a fire place for the cold desert nights. She had a green couch with a coffee table in front of it with a very special book collection that never left her room. Only one other person knew about her love for them, but he wouldn't say a word because she would tell people about his obsession with them as well. Some would call it smut, she called it good reading.

The rest of the room was the sleeping area. She had a queen size bed with a green comforter and sheets matching her couch. A bed side table with a clock and a lamp; the dresser was on the opposite wall next to the spacious closet. Most of it was filled but, she put her weapon rack in there also to keep it out of the main space. On the walls were a few pictures of her friends and her family, but that was about it. All of the other pictures were in albums.

Her bathroom was also the largest with a sunken tub, marble floors and counter tops, and with marble walls as well. It was a very relaxing place to be after a long mission or a long day. It was almost as good as a soak in Konoha hot springs, but not quite.

When Temari got to the kitchen she put the kettle on and waited for it to boil. While she was waiting, her thoughts drifted back to her love life. Which was none existent right now. It was not like she disliked being single, it was just that she wanted to spend her life with someone, and have someone there for her beside her brothers. She was just tired of being alone so much.

But she could not date anyone she wanted. She had to date a fellow shinobi; civilian relationships were out of the question, they never worked out anyway. Along those lines, she had to have someone strong, capable, and loyal. On the personal side she wanted someone who was laid back, sweet, kind, loving, considerate, and had a good heart. She also wouldn't mind someone with a strong wind affinity either.

But the most important part was that Gaara had to approve and like the guy. That one condition would be next to impossible to fill, she could only think of one person. However it would be too hard to make it work with their duties in the village and missions.

The whistling of the kettle drew her out of her thoughts, so she made her tea and fixed a simple breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast, and fruit. She sat down to eat and noticed a note on the table addressed to her. It looked like Gaara's handwriting so she opened it and read it.

_Temari,_

_I need you to come to my office this afternoon around 9.30 to discuss something. Have a nice day off._

_Gaara_

She studied it for a few more minutes before putting it down and finished up her breakfast. "I wonder what this is about?" she thought out loud.

After eating and cleaning up she headed upstairs to get dressed minus her gear until she left to meet her brother.

Her style had changed a little over the years into a more streamline look. She wore a sleek, black battle kimono, with a teal sash around her waist. The sleeves were shortened to her elbows, and were tighter to the body. The length was just above knee level to allow for more freedom of movement. On her legs she wore black mesh tights that reached her shoes. Her shoes were black shinobi style sandals. She did not wear any jewelry or make-up while on duty, only when she was out with friends. Her headband went around her neck, but while on a mission it would be around her forehead. Her weapons pouches were on her sash. Her battle fan would be clipped straight up and down her back. She also had smaller bladed fans that were in a scroll she carried as well.

However at the moment she was not armed, so she decided to relax on her couch with some tea for now. While she sipped her tea she thought about her friends in Konoha. She really missed all of them, but one in particular more than the others. She looked at her books and decided to read a little about romance since that was as close as she could get at the moment. '_I really do love these little books…_' she thought happily to herself.

XxxxX

Gaara sat in his office doing what every Kage had to do but cursed to the darkest pits of hell…paperwork. He was waiting on the reply from Tsunade about their little project that he was going to official assign Temari to tomorrow. All he had to do was get the final go ahead from Tsunade to make it an official assignment. He hoped the hawk got here before Temari showed up at 12.30 like he had asked.

Gaara set back and thought about how well this was going to work out for the both of them. Besides he was the only male he would even consider for his sister to have a relationship of this nature with.

Gaara sighed when he thought about Temari, '_She deserves a life like she wants, but she just cannot get here because of me. However that is about to change for the better._'

He and Naruto have been like brothers for years, and by extension his siblings as well. However Naruto and Temari had a very strong friendship, and many of their friends, Gaara and Tsunade included, thought that maybe they had a crush on each other. It was almost creepy how good they were for each other; they were exactly what the other wanted and needed. However the distance and long periods without seeing one another made it hard for the two to find the connection. This was the main purpose of the assignment, it would give them the time needed to realize the connection they shared and to strengthened it over time.

Gaara's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door. "Enter" he called out.

An office assistant poked her head in the door "Kazekage-sama, a message has arrived from Konoha for you." She said while handing him the scroll. He thanked her and she left, closing the door behind her.

Gaara broke the seal and read it, sure enough it was what he wanted from Tsunade. After reading the letter, he finished the official write up of the mission and went to turn it in personally.

'_And just in time at that. Another hour and Temari would have been here._' He thought.

XxxxX

It was 12.15 and Temari was leaving the estate to meet her brother in his office. As she was walking, she received the usual looks, but no cat calls, she was glad that they got her message loud and clear. The last time she heard one the man got a shirken to the groin, and his little friends scurried away like cockroaches when you turn a light on. So she was pleased they got the message which was 'Don't screw with me or you won't be able to screw period.'

By the time she was done thinking, she was at her destination. She knocked on the door and heard an "Enter." And went in closing the door behind her and took her seat in front of her brother.

Gaara studied her for a moment and said "Hello Temari, enjoying your day off so far?"

Temari looked at her brother and nodded, "Yeah, just hung around the house and read a little. What did you want to speak to me about anyway Gaara?"

He smiled at that, if Temari was curious about something she got straight to the point, "The reason is that tomorrow I will be giving you a new assignment that starts the day after tomorrow. I thought I would give you a heads up so you could do something about it today."

She looked at him with interest and curiosity. He had never done this before and it was a little weird, but she was glad for the advance notice if she had to something to prepare for it. "Why can't you just go ahead and assign it to me, then tell me what I need to do to get ready?"

Gaara answered with a straight face, "I cannot assign it to you now because it is still be finalized and being made official. It will be ready tomorrow morning by 9 so be here by then." Gaara thought, '_The curiosity is going to drive her up the wall. Oh well, its pay back for her stealing the suite while I was on a mission._' "As for your preparations, they will take the better part of the afternoon to complete."

Temari was a little upset at her brother for not telling her. '_Maybe this is payback for me stealing the suite while he was on a mission. Naw._' After she thought it over she replied, "Ok I understand. What exactly do I need to do today?" If it was going to take the rest of the day to do this, she hoped it would be enjoyable.

Gaara smiled, "Oh don't worry you will enjoy this. Your assignment is to go shopping and get whatever you want whether it be cloths, shoes, jewelry, weapons, whatever. Everything is going to be paid for by me. Buy things that would be suitable for non desert climates though." Gaara almost laughed at the expression on her face when he was done telling she got a free shopping spree on him. It was priceless.

Temari thought that it was a joke, but Gaara just looked at her waiting for a reply patiently. Gaara was not expecting her reply, "OH MY GOD, THIS IS THE BEST ASSIGNMENT EVER!!!!!!! SEE YOU AT 9 FOR THE BRIEFNG." With a huge hug given to her now all time favorite brother, she ran out of the room slamming the door behind her.

Gaara just sat there staring where his sister had just been. When he finally recovered he said "Why do I get the feeling I'm going to be broke for months after this?"

Shukaku decided to add his two cents in as well, '_**Because you probably will be. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.**_'

XxxxX

Temari thought that this was the best day of her life. She ran home to drop off most of her gear, except for a few shirken, and ran to Suna's shopping district.

Suna had a huge shopping district packed with everything a person could want or need. But today she was going to get everything she wanted and needed. It was a great day to be her. '_I can clean Gaara out for not telling me anything about this assignment_.' She thought with an evil grin on her face, which sent several men running in the opposite direction as fast as they possibly could.

Temari decided to start with weapons and go from there. That way she could get a couple storage scrolls to seal everything into. Being a shinobi came in handy at times like these, also the lowered drinking age, discounts in the stories, and about a dozen other special privileges made the job pretty much kick ass. With that thought, she entered the store.

First off she got the basics which were the storage scrolls, exploding tags, mono wire, kunai, shirken, blank scrolls, and a new sharpening stone for her bladed fans. With the basics out of the way, she went to find something unique. She looked at the swords first, she never really liked them because her battle fan was big enough to carry, and she never could find one she liked to really worry about.

When she was looking at the one rack in particular, one caught her eye. It was a katana length sword with a teal hilt wrapped in black. The sheath was black with red roses inlayed with what looked like teal colored stones. It was the most beautiful sword she had ever seen. She picked it up to test the balance and weight, they both were perfect. Temari carefully pulled the blade out to inspect it. It was extremely sharp, with a slight curve to it. There were also sharpening stones in the sheath so it never needed to be sharpened. Which was a plus since her fans required maintance often. The color also had a teal tinge to it.

While she was inspecting the blade, the shop keeper came up, "You need any help miss?"

She looked at the man and showed him the katana, "Can you tell me about this please?" she asked. She really wanted to find out more about this sword.

The owner took the blade, "Ah yes this is a very special sword. We just got it in a month ago. It is a hand crafted katana by a master sword smith in the Land of Snow. We only get a few a year." He paused as if letting the information sink in. "This particular one is made with chakra metal so it can be infused with the users' chakra to make the attacks more powerful. With that said, it will not break while infused either. If I remember this particular one works well with wind based attacks and chakra as well."

After he finished his explanation about the sword, she was reeling with the information. It almost was like it was made for her personally. Without a second thought she asked "How much?"

The owner regarded her carefully before answering, "Well given the rarity and quality I cannot accept less than 25,000 ryo."

She thought about for about 1 nano second before answering, "I'll take it. Just put it with my other things please. I'm not done shopping yet."

The owner blinked at her for a few minutes. When he finally recovered he said, "Yes maim. Just take your time." With that he walked off in a daze.

Temari smirked '_I'm surprised he didn't keel over on me when I told him I would take it._' With that thought she moved on to daggers. She found a few that could be easily hidden and concealed within cloths so she got those before moving on to her favorite section, battle fans.

She always loved this section the most, she could spend hours looking. But today she was buying. She saw a few more bladed fans and decided to get them, since she only had 3 and this would give her eight. When she was looking through the rack a medium sized fan caught her eye. On closer inspection, she noticed it was actually a twin fan; simply meaning it was two fans made to look like one until opened and separated. Temari had been looking for a pair of these for years. She immediately tested their balance and weight together and then separately. They were perfectly balanced and proportional.

The reason this was so important to her was that her grandmother had written special family jutsu's that could only be used with twin fans. The problem was that they were rare and hard to find with the correct specifications and quality needed. These she just found were perfect, and with these she could carry on the tradition of the twin fan just like her grandmother had.

Temari got them as well since she could not very well pass them up. To finish up she got a new maintence kit for her large fan, and a few small fans with senbon needles that can be coated in poison and flung during a jutsu or used as an assassination tool as well since they could be concealed as a normal fan. She also grabbed a new weapons rack since her current one would not hold everything she just bought. Before going to check out she grabbed 3 packs of senbon needles for the new fans. '_I can finally use the poison Kankoro made for me._' She thought happily on her way to pay.

"Alright miss, your total is 85,000 ryo." The shop keeper said happily. '_This is the most I've made in a single sale since the last war._' he thought.

Temari could see the dollars signs running through his head. "Just send the bill to the Kazekage, he is paying." He nodded and she took one of the storage scrolls and sealed everything she just bought into it and stuck it in her lone weapons pouch and left a very happy shopkeeper behind.

'_Well next stop is cloths and then shoes. Yup defiantly the best day I have had in a very long time._' She thought as she entered the next store.

XxxxX

Two hours later, Temari was setting at a restaurant having lunch and drinking sake. She was looking at her three storage scrolls that had everything she had bought…so far.

After she finished at the weapons store, Temari then proceeded to by out three clothing stores and two shoe stores. '_I don't think that the owners have had this much business from one person… ever._' She thought with a grin while refilling her sake cup for the last time.

Temari had bought ever type of clothing she could think of from formal dresses and kimonos to bathing suits. The same also went for shoes. All in all she filled up a storage scroll each with everything she bought.

She finished and paid for her lunch before putting the scrolls back in her weapons pouch and walking out of the restaurant. "Let's see, next stop will be the jewelry store." she thought out loud. While she was walking the short distance, her mind drifted back to her meeting with Gaara earlier. She had thought about it off and on for the last three hours while she drained her brother dry. '_There is something he's not telling me. I could be out of the village awhile; maybe that is why he sent me shopping. Makes since, but the real question is why and where??_'

"Well what ever it is, I'm not going to be bored." she stated out loud while walking into her intended destination.

Suna was known for their master craftsmen from that made everything including weapons and jewelry. The village's main export was metal works. They supplied all of the elemental nations with their creations. But they also imported from all the countries as well. The store that Temari was standing in was the largest and the most diverse in its inventory. Almost every country had its own section. If you could not find something here, then you were out of luck.

Temari started at one side and was slowly making her way around to the other. Along the way she picked earrings in every possible style, metal, and gemstone; necklaces, bracelets, and even a few rings along the same lines as well. She was about three fourths of the way through the store when she looked at one section that never interested her much… until now.

She looked at the hair ornaments and decided since her brother was paying she could get a few. '_After all a girl has got to have options. If nothing else I can wear them when I'm off duty._' she thought while looking over the case. There were about a hundred total, but some were too big, others too small. After all, her hair was about shoulder length so she had to look accordingly. With her choices narrowed down to about twenty-five, she called out to the owner. "Can I look at these please?" she asked and showed the owner what she wanted to look at.

The owner pulled out the ornaments for Temari and let her look them over more closely. "Just ask if you have any questions about anything dear." The owner smiled at the slightly older woman. After all Temari was buying enough to feed her and her entire family for about a year.

Temari looked over every single one and bought all of them. They ranged from hair sticks, both double and single, to clips of every size and style, and even some that had gemstones inlayed for more formal occasions. She was about to check-out when one caught her eye that was still in the case. She motioned to the owner and asked her to pull it out so Temari could look at it.

"Here you are dear. Do you have any questions?" the owner asked.

Temari picked up the clip to look at it more closely. The first thing she noticed was that it was slightly bigger than others she picked out, but despite that, it weighted next to nothing. It was about five or so inches long and about one and half inches wide. The design however, was what got her attention in the first place and up close it was even more impressive. The design was very intricate despite the size. It had bright teal colored stones in what looked like wind swirls patterns with fairly good sized rubies carved out to look like roses in full bloom. Around each rose were little emeralds to act as the leaves. The stones themselves were set in yellow gold that matched the color of Temari's hair perfectly. She looked up from the clip and asked the owner, "Can you tell me about this please."

The owner smiled and nodded, "I would be glad to dear. This clip was imported about six months ago from the Land of Waves. It was created by a master jewel carver that was trained here in Suna originally. The wind swirls are made with a rare stone called a Blue Paridot. That is why they have that unique color. The roses are carved out of a single ruby and shaded with platinum to give them a realistic appearance. The leaves around the roses are emeralds that have been shaped. The whole design is set in 14 caret gold."

Temari took all the information in and thought it over. Now Temari had been buying jewelry for years and knew the right questions to ask. "What are the carets weights of the gems?" She learned long ago that if ask the right questions, the owners would knock off some of the cost. It was the same with weapons.

The owner nodded, slightly impressed by the knowledge her customer seem to have. '_I will give her a price break. More than the usual discount._' She thought while looking at the Suna headband around her neck. "The paridots are half caret. There are twenty of them total for about 10 carets. The emeralds are one caret apiece, and with six total, about six carets altogether. The rubies are two carets apiece, so total you have six carets." The owner concluded.

Temari thought it over and asked, "How much?"

"Well with the quality of craftsmanship this piece has. I will sell it to you for 85,000 ryo." The owner replied smoothly.

"Sold. Put it with the rest." With that said she went to pay, and pulling out a scroll while she was heading toward the front.

By the time it was all said and done, she spent about 100,000 ryo of Gaara's money. After she sealed everything, Temari headed toward her next destination…the book store.

XxxxX

Temari was looking around the good sized bookstore while picking up some items she knew she needed. Along the way she got some blank scrolls used for extended mission reports and messages, a few new brushes with ink, and a new brush painting set since her brothers broke hers about a month ago. '_Idiots…what ever possessed them to spar in the house, I'll never know._' she thought to herself while shaking her head.

After the essentials were taken care of she went to look around. She was having extremely good luck shopping today and she hoped that it would not end just yet. The first section she went to was the romance. After a few minutes of searching, she found what she was looking for…

After she paid for everything and had it sealed away, including three new books, Temari went to her last stop of the day… the lingerie store.

Now why she did not have a reason to buy a lot from this store, she still bought quite a bit. Her purchases included bras, underwear, sleepwear, a few new robes, and even some more risqué pieces as well.

After she finally finished her shopping it was around 5pm. '_I think Gaara can treat me to dinner at the best steakhouse in the village._' thought Temari while heading in that direction.

XxxxX

After her fantastic dinner, Temari headed home with all of her purchases sealed away. She was currently relaxing on the couch in her room with her new books after a nice long bath.

Her thoughts drifted toward the mission she would be getting tomorrow, '_Well I guess I'll find out tomorrow._' With that thought she closed her book and went to bed. Just before she drifted off to sleep, Temari heard a scream that sounded something like 'NOOOOOOOOOOOOO I'M BROKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' in her a voice that sounded like new favorite brother from the direction of his office. With a satisfied smirk and a sigh, she drifted off to sleep.

XxxxX

**AN**: Hope you enjoyed it. This is the longest chapter to date. I really liked this chapter a lot. Well next time Naruto and Temari finally find out what this new assignment is. Review please!!!! Until next time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**: Don't own. Except plot.

**AN**: Hey everyone. Well here is chapter 4. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I do try and reply back to all of you. However, I will not reply back for one word reviews; I appreciate them though.

One thing real quick. I have gotten some reviews and pm's about the ages. I made the ages the way I did for a reason. If you have a real problem with it, I am sorry but it is my story and that is how I wanted it. I've even seen stories were _everyone _is the some age, even the sand siblings. I also claim creative license for anything that doesn't line up with cannon. If you have a real problem or don't understand my reasons, drop me a review or a pm and I will gladly answer your questions. Clear??? Alright next thing.

I just checked the stats on the story and for two days their have already been almost 1500 hits, and over 1000 visitors. Let me just say thank you so much for the attention and WOW!!!!!!

Keep up with the reviews, alerts, and favoriting. It makes me write faster. Enjoy…

XxxxX

**Chapter 4**

Her alarm went off at 5am just like it did every morning she was on duty. That did not mean that Temari liked it however. But today was different, she was finding out what her new mystery assignment was. To say that she was excited was a huge understatement.

So she quickly got out of bed, threw her robe on, and went downstairs to eat breakfast and gather supplies for the journey. Before she could put the kettle on for her morning tea, she found two notes; one from each brother. She decided to read Kankoro's first:

_Hey Sis,_

_I know you are leaving on a long assignment today and wanted to say bye and be careful._

_I had to leave for a week long mission late last night so I couldn't say bye. I brought a note from Gaara about a revision in time; he said you would know what that meant._

_By the way, WHAT the hell did you do to him??? He was a mess and mumbling about having to do D-rank missions for three months or something along those lines._

_Anyway Love ya and see you soon._

_Kankoro_

Temari snorted at her older brother's letter. He usual left her a note when he left on a late night mission so he didn't have to wake her up. '_Men are such chickens_' she thought with a laugh. Both of her brothers knew not to wake her up after she went to sleep unless the village was under attack or on fire. The last time Kankoro woke her up to tell her he was leaving, he got a kunai to the thigh and about ten stitches as well. After that incident, they left notes behind to avoid personal injury.

She set the note aside, filled up the kettle, and started her usual breakfast. After it was ready she took Gaara's note and her food to the table. She ate while she read his note:

_Temari,_

_Instead of the 9am meeting, be here by 6.30am with gear packed and ready. After you receive your assignment, you are leaving._

_Pack enough supplies for three days travel time. Also bring everything you bought yesterday along with all other personal items you cannot live without, and I mean everything._

_I have left you three storage scrolls, and one preservation scroll for food._

_Gaara_

Temari studied the letter for a few minutes before putting it down and locating the scrolls that Gaara left for her. She looked at the clock, it was 5.15am, '_I've got plenty of time._' So she took her time finishing her breakfast.

After she had cleaned up, Temari gathered supplies for a three day trip to where ever the hell she was going and sealed them in the preservation scroll and left the kitchen.

After she was dressed and fully armed, she went about packing everything else. First stop was her closet: cloths, shoes, and her weapons rack where sealed. Next was the dresser and bathroom: underwear of all kinds, sleep wear, jewelry, make-up, toiletries were also sealed. The last scroll was for personal items: her books, photo album, her grandmother's twin fan scrolls, and her pillows. She couldn't sleep without them unless she was camping.

She packed all of the scrolls in her pack, and put her camping gear on top along with the preservation scroll. With that she was packed and ready with 15 minutes to spare.

She took a quick look in her room to make sure she got everything, walked out and placed a blood seal on her door. Temari always sealed her room because if she didn't her brothers would commandeer it for the duration of her absence, and they were not clean or neat either. So now she sealed it shut and that ended the issue.

With a last look at the estate, she headed toward Gaara's office to receive her assignment. Little did she know just how much better her life was about to get…

XxxxX

Temari arrived at Gaara's office and went straight in, closed the door, set her pack down next to the door, looked at her brother, and sat down.

He just started back with a slight glare and said nothing.

"I got your message about the time change. So what is this assignment?" Temari asked while thinking '_What the hell crawled up his ass and died?_'

"…" Was her reply. After about five minutes of the unblinking glare aimed at her, she decided to try again. "Okay seriously, what the hell are you staring at?? Do I have something on my face?? Because if not, this is wasting my time that I could be traveling. I want to be out of the desert before noon if possible. So talk already!!!!!!!"

Finally Gaara blinked and simply handed her about nine papers, but said nothing. She took them and looked at them. They were the receipts for everything she bought yesterday. She laughed at him. Gaara was not amused in the least.

After she calmed down a little she said, "HAHAHA…_These_ are what you are pissed about….HAHAHAHAHAHAHA…You told me to get what ever I wanted, and your pissed about that…HAHAHAHA… News flash little brother, if you didn't want me to spend so much, you should have _never_ told me to get whatever I wanted…HAHAHAHAH."

Gaara finally spoke after she had recovered from laughing at his expense…literally, "I did tell to get whatever you wanted, BUT I never expected for the final amount to be 336,600 ryo either." He ended the statement with a glare.

Shukaku decided to add his two cents in, '_**Told you she would clean you out. This is so damn funny!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!**_'

Gaara ignored him. "However you are right about the assignment. It will take a little time to explain so listen up and do not interrupt." Temari nodded that she understood, so he continued. "Your assignment first off, is not a mission. It is an actual post that requires you to travel and be out of the village for long periods of time. Also while on this assignment you will not be going on missions of any sort, however you will be receiving A-rank mission pay along with your normal jonin salary so money will not be a problem."

"Now with the basic explanation out of the way, let me explain your actual job. You are going to be Suna's diplomat to Konoha, like you were when I first took this job, however your purpose there now is total different than what it was previously."

"What your job is going to entail is that you will be around Konoha's diplomat to Suna at all times. You will look at how they run their village on a day-to-day bases from civilian life to the Hokage's office itself. Look for ways that will make Suna better and more efficient in every capacity."

"Tsunade and I both agreed that this will better both villages, and make them stronger in the long run." He paused for a minute to let everything sink in.

When she nodded he continued, "Now in addition to that, when you two come back to Suna you both will oversee the changes that I choose to implement here in the village. Also he will follow you around the village so he can find ways to improve Konoha. So basically he will be doing what you did while in Konoha, but you both will oversee the changes here, and the ones Konoha uses as well." He paused again to let her process all the information he was throwing at her.

She nodded thoughtfully, and he went on explaining, "Now the last two things that your new job requires of you is that while in Konoha you will set on the council along with Konoha's diplomat since he already holds a clan seat. This way you can help to improve our council here and also strengthen our relationship with them even more by holding a diplomatic seat."

"Now when you both return to Suna, you will be on the council, while he fills Konoha's diplomatic chair here. Temari you will hold the Subaku's clan seat, since I cannot do it, but only while you are in Suna. Kankoro will fill in for you when he can."

"The last requirement is that you will submit two reports every month while in Konoha and in Suna. One will be for me the other will be for Tsunade. The reports will cover what you want to implement here in Suna and also the progress of how the things are going that are being used there. The same will go for him, but in reverse. Now any questions before I continue?" Gaara waited for her answer.

Temari was trying to process the massive amount of information that was just thrown at her. "So basically I am going to be looking for ways to improve Suna, while observing everything, serving on the council both here and Konoha, making sure the programs are running smoothly in both villages, and writing the same report for both you and Tsunade. Am I correct."

Gaara nodded, "Yes you are, and don't worry I will give you a copy of your assignment so you can review it later if you have any questions."

She nodded gratefully, "Thanks. I do have a few questions thought. How long will we be staying in Konoha, when does this job officially start, who is the 'he' you keep referring two that is obviously my partner, where will I be staying in Konoha, and how long is this job going to last?"

"I was getting to all that. Now you both will be in Konoha for two months with a week's vacation during that time, then you will both come to Suna and stay two months before heading back to Konoha. That is how the pattern will go. The job will start for both you in five days time; however you get a week's vacation before hand, so catch up with our friends and get reacquainted with the village."

"Now, I'm going to answer your last question next. I do not know how long it will last, it could be 6 months or 6 years. This has the potential to strengthen both villages indefinitely so no time limit has been placed on it." Gaara stopped again to let her process everything.

Again when she nodded, he went on, "Now the last piece of information will make this experience very enjoyable for you. While in Konoha you will be living at his estate, as for when you come back to Suna he will be living in ours." He studied her expression, and was confused when he saw her looking depressed. "What's wrong Temari?"

"But if he stays at our estate then we can't keep his room ready for when he comes to Suna." She was not liking this at all. She also didn't want to live at an estate in Konoha unless it was the one she had a room in already. But she kept she kept that thought to herself.

Gaara smirked, "Did I say anything about changing that situation?" He waited for the statement to register. '_Her reaction will be priceless. Good blackmail material._'

Temari replied immediately, "But we have to if the…" she paused at what he said when the statement registered, a huge smile crossed her face, "You mean it? This is not some kind of a sick joke is it? Because if it is…"

Gaara smiled back, "Nope, not at all. I'm being completely honest."

"So Naruto and I will be doing this assignment together, while living in each other's estates?" She prayed to Kama that the answer was a yes.

"That is correct." replied Gaara. '_Hopefully you two will be doing more than that very soon._' he added to himself.

"When do I leave." She said without a moments notice, all the while she was throwing a party in her head over the news, '_And I thought yesterday was good, this has to be the best day of my life!! No that will be when we see each other again._'

Gaara smiled, '_Looks like I was right on my end about their relationship. I'll find out if Tsunade's was right when I get her message later today._' he thought. He looked at her and said out loud, "Right now. But let me say a few things first. When you are a day out from arriving at Konoha, summon a messenger to take a message to the Hokage and let them know your ETA. Naruto will meet you at the main gate. Secondly be careful and do not work too hard, this job is rather easy so have fun with our friends. I know that all of them and Naruto will make sure of it. Lastly see you in two months."

With that Temari stood up, hugged her brother, grabbed her pack, and left.

XxxxX

It was already 8.45am and Temari was running top speed threw the desert that made up the Land of Wind. It had been two hours since she left Suna and she had yet to stop. However she wasn't planning on it either. She estimated that she was half way through the desert, so by 10.30am she would be out and in thirty minutes after that she would cross the border into the Land of Fire. She channeled extra chakra to her legs, so she increased her speed to her limit. To saw the least she was hauling some serious ass. '_I'm going to make it in two days, come hell or high water. I've waited six months to see him and my friends, and I will not wait any longer._' She thought while literally flying through the dunes.

While she was running at her insane pace. She let her mind wander, it helped her to remain focused on long trips, especial when she was traveling alone. It also passed the time as well. However instead of jumping from topic to topic like she usually did, her mind was focused on one subject: and that was Naruto.

Not to say that she wasn't excited to see her other friends on a regular bases with only a two month separation, and she was looking forward to it more than anyone knew. But Naruto and Temari have a unique relationship, and it meant more to her than anything in the world.

The reason for this is that she has known him much longer than the rest of her friends in Konoha. It was through Naruto that she meet everyone else. They became friends when he and Gaara became close friends after the invasion failed. So they have known each other since he was 13 and she was 14. Ten years is a long time to get know someone, and still be extremely close with long periods of separation and no contact.

They both knew each other up one side and down the other, left to right, and front to back. There were no secrets between them, and she always knew when he was lying to her or holding something back. She had learn to read him really well over the years.

However, no one knew just how close they really were except the two of them. Their relationship was complex and simple at the same time. They were more than best friends, but they did not have that brother-sister component either.

What they had was deeper and more complex, she knew what he wanted without him asking for it, he also knew what she wanted before she even wanted or asked for it, they were never weird around each other, and silence was fine when they were together, never awkward. I guess you could call them soul mates for a lack of a better term.

That was probably why their previous relationships had never lasted longer than two years, in Naruto's case at least with Hinata. She also knew that after his last relationship with Sakura ended, he did not date anyone else or even expressed an interest to either. It was the same with her after the relationship with Shikamaru ended. It seemed like if they couldn't have each other, then no one would. It was an all or nothing kind of thing.

She had wanted to have a romantic relationship with him for the last four years, and she thought he wanted one to, but it would have never worked out. With them being from different villages with demanding responsibilities, they would only get to see each other every six months if they were lucky. She remembered a few years back, when Naruto was still in ANBU, that they had gone two years without seeing or even writing to each other due to a black ops mission he was running. So a relationship would be pointless if you only got to see each other twice a year.

They had always tried to send messages to each other when they could. But sometimes if they were extremely busy they would go months without contact. When they got older it became easier when they started to use their summons to transport messages.

Because no matter where they were the messenger was always ready, and the messages were always delivered in a timely manner. She used her weasels, while he used the toads, however when he turned 18, the Kyuubi had given Naruto a fox summoning contract; so he switched to the foxes, which were cutier, smarter, more well mannered, and most importantly faster and better trackers in her opinion. They were like her weasels, except bigger.

So with the fox contract, he can summon two things, the first and only person she knew of that could do that. Naruto and his prisoner had bonded and reconciled any differences by then, so this was a thank you present from the old fox. The same thing happened with Gaara and his prisoner. He even was given a contract for the raccoons which he really enjoyed.

Her thoughts then drifted to the positive side when she thought about their new assignments. '_Now we can have a relationship if we want, and I do so much._' she thought when she saw the sand give way to scrub grasses. "Just one more day and I will be in Naruto's arms." she stated to herself and the surrounding area.

By the time she stopped to make camp for the night it was it was about 5pm. She was exactly eight hours from Konoha, and she could not have been more pleased. However she was exhausted and starving. She never stopped once, she even ate lunch while running at break neck speed. She had traveled a distance that would have taken two days normally, however she made it in under twelve hours.

After she made camp, she set traps around the perimeter and made a fire. She pulled out the kettle, preservation scroll, and her eating wear. After taking out what she need from the scroll she set down to work. She had used chakra to increase her speed the whole way, so she was running low. But she packed enough food for three days of travel, so she made a feast to help replenish her chakra supplies before going to rest.

After she ate about half of the small feast she made, she decided to send in her message to Tsunade. She wrote out the message to Tsunade, then wrote a second one to send to Naruto. She knew that this would get to Konoha after dark and he would already be asleep, so she put in her letter to Tsunade to not send a messenger to inform him about her ETA because she already did. '_This will save someone a beating and a chewing out._' she thought while she wrote. Naruto, like her, did not like to be woken up after they had gone to bed. The only thing they could handle was a summon delivering a message. They knew how to wake a person up nicely.

After she sealed both scrolls, she went through the hand signs and called out "Summoning Jutsu" and with a puff of smoke and a popping noise a medium sized black ferret with green eyes appeared and looked at Temari. "**Temari, what can I do for you tonight?**" the female ferret asked politely.

She studied her favorite summon for a minute while petting her. The ferret wore a chunin style vest, with a Suna headband tied around her neck. Temari stopped her ministrations to talk to the ferret, "Hello Jade, I need you to take two messages to Konoha for me. It should take you about four hours to get there. Now these messages are for two different people. This one." Temari showed it to Jade, "needs to go to Tsunade in the Hokage tower. And make sure that she is awake and doesn't have any questions for you before you leave, alright?" Jade nodded, so Temari continued. "The second one is for Naruto, so go the estate. But he will be asleep by the time you arrive, so wake him up in the usual way." Jade nodded again in understanding.

"**Do you want me to give him the usual parting gift before I leave?"** she asked.

Temari thought about it and nodded her head, "Yeah he always likes it. Here let me put these in your vest so you can go." She put the scrolls in the pockets of the vest and snapped them shut. "Be careful Jade and fly." was her parting words, and with that Jade was off into the night like a black shadow flying threw the trees.

With that done, she finished the rest of her feast, and cleaned up her mess. Since her charka levels were almost full again, she did a quick medical jutsu she learned from Hinata so she wouldn't cramp up later or be sore and applied it to her legs. If she didn't, then she would get shin splints while she slept.

About an hour later, Temari went to bed next to the fire. '_I'll get up at five, so I should make the eight hour run in about 3.5 – 4 hours max._' Temari thought while she drifted off the sleep.

XxxxX

Earlier that same day in Konoha…

It was 6am, and Naruto was in the last place he wanted to be at the moment, a joint council meeting with the civilian council. '_I should have sent a clone to deal with this, I could be doing _anything_ but this form of torture right now, like finding out about my new assignment._' he thought to himself.

After another hour of the pointless debate about how, shinobi only bars and clubs should be open to everyone, Naruto finally snapped. "Alright shut the hell up and listen you pompous idiots for once in your life!!!" he said with authority. "You say that we, as shinobi of this village, should not get certain rights because we are just like everybody else in the village, correct?" All the civilians nodded in agreement.

"Well let's look at this issue shall we? Do you or any other civilians put their lives on the line every time you go to work, if the village is attacked do you help defend it, do you help enforce the laws of the village on a day-to-day bases, have you lost count of how many of your loved ones and friends you have lost while in the line of duty before the age of 20?" Every civilian in the room shook their head no, while others looked down slightly embarrassed about the whole thing now.

However Naruto was not done, "Since the answer is no, then we," he gestured to the shinobi council and Tsunade, "are not like everyone else. It is because of us that you enjoy the life style and peace that you do. So I think that since we do sooo much for this village that we should get a few special privileges and rights as a simple thank you for keeping everyone and everything safe. What do you think?" Naruto leaned back in his chair and waited.

After a short discussion among the civilians, the head member spoke, "I think that issue has been resolved, and will not be talked about further. Now the next thing we need to debate and vote on is…" And that was that.

Tsunade was proud of Naruto for the way he handled the issue, and effectively put it to bed. '_I made the right choice, you will be the best Hokage ever. Just like your father was._' She thought while giving the final vote on last issue of the joint meeting.

"Alright that is the close of this meeting. We will meet again next month." Tsunade said after the last issue was taken care of. With that Naruto and her left the meeting to go to her office. '_I have to tell him some bad news first, but the other will make it seem a whole lot better._' she thought while taking her seat behind her desk.

XxxxX

Naruto took his seat across from Tsunade waiting for her to get started.

"Okay before I get to the explanation about your new assignment, I have some bad news to tell you. I received a report last night that Kiba and his gennin team are going to be behind schedule slightly. One of his team members twisted their ankle, so they are having to proceed slower."

Naruto nodded and sighed, "How long of a delay are we talking about?" he asked. '_Kiba, we are going to kick your ass when you get back for delaying our vacation._' Naruto thought while planning his revenge. Kiba was the only one who had a team currently, everyone else's team had been promoted. He had held his team back because they were not up to his standards yet. After all this was his third team, so he knew best.

"Three days time at least." She looked at Naruto and felt slightly sorry for Kiba, '_They are going to kill him for this, oh well._' "However this little event will work for you in the long run with your new assignment."

Naruto thought about it, '_It will give me the time to get used to it and work out any kinks in my schedule._' Out loud he said, "Alright Baa-chan, let's hear it."

She pulled the scroll out of a drawer and set in on her desk, however she did not open it. "Now let me fully explain this to you before you ask any question alright?"

He nodded so she launched into her speech, "First this is not a mission, but a job that does not have a set duration time. So it could be a few months or a few years. It has too much potential to improve the village for a time limit. Also while you have this job, you will not be going on any mission. However if something comes up that only you can handle, we will make the necessary adjustments. You will be getting A-rank mission pay and your normal jonin salary, so there will be no pay cut. You will also be traveling regularly and be away from the village for long time periods. Do you understand."

Naruto nodded, so Tsunade continued, "Now that the basics have been covered, I'll tell you exactly what this job is. You are now Konoha's diplomat to Suna. Your partner for this is enroot from Suna as we speak. Your job will be to show her around the village, so she can find ways to improve Suna for the better. While on duty, you will be around her at all times to help."

"Now in two months, both of you will travel to Suna and you will do what she did here. You will look for ways to improve Konoha. In addition to that both of you will make sure that the programs that have been chosen by Gaara are running smoothly; then when you both come back here you will make sure the programs I choose are running smoothly as well. You both will get your current vacation as well as one when you return to Konoha." She paused before launching into part two.

"The last two things that you will be doing is while in Konoha, you will continue to be on the council, however Suna's diplomat will also serve on it in the diplomat chair. Then when you are in Suna, you will set in their diplomatic position on the council there. Lastly, every month you will need to write two reports on the progress of the programs that have been started here and in Suna, depending on where you are, as well as other recommendations for new programs. One will be for me and the other will be for Gaara. Do you have any questions regarding your new job?" She waited for his response.

Naruto thought it over before responding, "No it seems pretty clear, and I assume I will be getting a copy so I can refer back if I need to." She nodded. "However I do have some questions about what you did not say. Will I continue running ANBU while still in the village, where will I stay while in Suna, and who is the "she" that I will be working with?"

"I was going to address these any way after I made sure you didn't have any questions about the basics. You will still be running ANBU while in the village, however Yamato will have more of a role in running ANBU himself. He will also be in charge while you are out of the village, it will be good practice for when he takes over."

Naruto nodded that he understood, so she went on. "Now as for your other question, you will be staying at each other's estate since you both have a room ready anyway." Tsunade sat back while she waited for him to connect the dots, so to speak. '_Good blackmail material_' she thought offhandedly.

Naruto waited for her to continue, but she never did. So he spoke up, "Aren't you going to tell me who…" he stopped mid thought because what she said finally clicked. There was only one person from Suna that was a female who had a room ready in his house. A huge grin spread across his face. "You mean it Baa-chan?" he asked with hope. '_Please let me right about this._' he prayed to himself while waiting on Tsunade to answer.

She nodded while thinking, '_We were right about these two._' "Yes Temari is on her way here as we speak. Now just a few more things before you leave. I am giving you the rest of the day off from everything to get ready for her arrival as well as the next three days off as well. Secondly she will send a message when she is a day away. I will let you know when to meet her at the front gate. Here is the assignment scroll. Now get out of here." She handed him the scroll and he let out of her office like he had been shot from a cannon.

After he left, Tsunade wrote her report to Gaara to inform him of everything that just happened. '_I hope those two will be happy together._'

XxxxX

After Naruto left the tower, he went straight home to get things ready for Temari. '_Knowing her, and I do, she will be here early tomorrow morning. I can't wait to see her, I've missed her so much._' he thought while walking into her bedroom. He opened the windows so he could air out the room since no one had been in it for six months.

Leaving the room, he proceeded to the spare study on the third floor. Again he opened the windows to air it out. Then Naruto checked to make sure that the desk was well stocked with paper, scrolls, and ink. Satisfied with the state of everything, he left and headed to the kitchen.

'_I'll have to get her some more of that tea she likes, and more sake._' he thought while writing a note for his housekeeper about cleaning her suite and buying more supplies from now on. Then he added about the two month absence every two months so she would already know about it. With that done he headed to get the sake and tea.

While walking to the shopping district, Naruto's thoughts drifted to Temari. They had been close for about ten years even with the long periods of time without contact or writing. He had always wanted to have a romantic relationship with her for about four years, but the logistics made that impossible, until now. '_We are going to give it a shot, if she still wants to. We'll talk it about and decide._' he thought.

They had not seen each other in six months, but had sent messages every month via fox and weasel express mail. '_Can't wait to see her and hold her for more than a few days. This assignment is the best._' With that thought he started his shopping.

At about 9pm that night he decided that everything was as ready as it was going to be, so he went to bed. He looked at the clock, '_In about two or three hours, I'll be getting a message from her, and I hope it is not a person._' were his final thought before going to sleep with Temari staring in his dreams.

XxxxX

It was 10.30pm when a black streak entered the gates of Konoha heading for the Hokage's residence.

Tsunade had been asleep for about an hour. She was having an excellent dream about being locked in a sake distillery. It was ended when a weight landed on her chest, a furry, warm weight at that. She slowly opened her eyes to see two bright green ones staring back at her expectedly. Tsunade sat up so fast that the creature was dumped in the floor by the sudden movement.

"**Ouch! What was that for? I'm sorry for waking you Hokage-sama, but I have a message for you from Temari.**" Jade said politely with a small bow.

Tsunade reached down to pick the ferret up and set it in her lap, it was then that she recognized the summon, "Jade?" she asked questionably.

The ferret nodded and said, "**Yes it is me. Here is the requested message.**" Jade opened the pocket with the message and handed it to Tsunade.

She took the scroll, broke the seal, opened it, and read it.

_Tsunade-sama,_

_This is the message I was instructed to send to you when I was a day out. Currently I am about eight hours away, however I should be able to make it in 3.5 to 4 hours. I will be heading out at 5am after I break camp._

_Also do not send a messenger to Naruto. I have instructed Jade to deliver a message to him after she leaves you._

_We will report to you tomorrow after I arrive. Looking forward to seeing you._

_Temari_

Tsunade reread the scroll again after she was more alert. Jade waited patiently it her lap until she was finished.

"**Do you have any questions before I go to Naruto's estate?**" Jade asked.

"No Jade, you can go. Thank you." Tsunade replied. She watched as the ferret bowed, jumped off her bed, and streaked out of her room to her next destination. "That was defiantly interesting. She must be impatient to see him." Tsunade said to herself. Pleased with the events, she went back to sleep.

XxxxX

Naruto was having a very nice dream about him and Temari in the hot spring together when he felt something that he hadn't felt for quite awhile. With his eyes still closed he focused on the sensation; it felt like very soft fur rubbing the side of his face and arm. '_There is only one thing that does that to wake me up._' He thought now completely awake. He opened his eyes and sat up. Sure enough there was Jade crawling into his lap as he looked down. With a quick pet he spoke, "Hey Jade. What do you have for me tonight?" he asked the sleek-looking summon.

Jade made a purring sound while he stroked her, she always liked Naruto, "**Hi Naruto, I have a message from Temari.**" She took the last scroll out of the her vest and handed it to him.

Naruto took the scroll from Jade, "Thank you very much Jade." He broke the seal and read Temari's message.

_Hey Sweetie,_

_Just wanted to let you know that I will be there in 3.5-4 hours after 5am tomorrow. Meet you at the front gate like all ways. Can't wait to see you._

_We have to report to the Hokage's office after I get there. Have a good rest of the night, babe. See you tomorrow._

_Temari-hime_

He read the note again to make sure he read it right. After a few minutes of studying it, he rolled it up and put it on his nightstand. He then looked at the black ferret that was still in his lap. "Thanks for bringing the messages as always Jade."

Jade looked at him and nodded, "**Your welcome as always Naruto. I need to be going since my job is done.**" she said before giving her usual parting gift, a kiss on the cheek, before she poofed back to the summoning realm.

Naruto stared at where the ferret had just been, "Always liked that parting gift." he said before laying back down and going back to sleep. Temari never far from his mind.

XxxxX

**AN**: Well there you have it. Next chapter Temari arrives in Konoha. Hope you enjoyed it.

If you have a question about anything in this chapter, let me know so I can clarify. This was a major chapter with a lot of information thrown at you in a short while.

Very soon, these two are going to going on dates. If there is something you want to happen, see them go or do, or anything at all let me know in a review and I'll see if I can work them in. I have some ideas already, but any will be helpful.

Until next time…


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer**: Don't own except for the plot.

**AN**: Hey everyone, welcome back for chapter 5. Temari and Naruto finally meet in this chapter and the story can really begin. Oh just so you know, Naruto's morning routine, is what I do. I am not a morning person.

I also reposted chapters one and two with corrections, so all the problems have been fixed.

Keep the reviews coming. Enjoy…

XxxxX

**Chapter 5**

It was a peaceful morning in the woods that made up the Land of Fire, however it was not exactly without signs of life…

Temari was already up and cooking the rest of her food that was not prepared last night. She had another mini feast in the works, but it was needed. "I need all the energy I can get if I'm going to make it in less than four hours." she stated quietly to herself while finishing the last of the cooking. She was planning on using as much chakra as she could to increase her speed like yesterday.

After she ate everything, broke down her camp, and repacked her pack, she buried the fire pit and it looked like no one was ever there. With a final look around, she jumped into the nearest tree, channeled a large amount of charka to her legs, and she was off.

While she was traveling at a pace that seemed to defy logic, she looked at her watch, '_Good just now 5am. See you in three hours Naruto._'

XxxxX

BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…

"Shut up you damn clock" was heard from a lump under the covers. A hand soon emerged to shut the thing up by hitting it repeatedly. After the annoyance was shut off, well for ten more minutes at least, the lump rolled back over to get back to sleep. That was until said lump remembered what was going on today.

Naruto's eyes shot open and he emerged from under the covers to actually turn the alarm off and get up. He got up off the bed and stumbled toward the bathroom, and then on to the true destination and purpose: the kitchen which held very strong coffee.

After aforementioned purpose was met, Naruto drank his first cup of the morning. "Well at least I'm getting up early for a good reason on my day off" he stated to the empty kitchen, while starting breakfast.

Now while Naruto would get up at 5am every morning while on duty with no problem or complaint, his days off were another story all together since he would usually sleep in till at least eight. But today was different, and he was rather looking forward to it.

After he had finished cooking he set down to eat his usual breakfast which consisted of more coffee, eggs, fruit, toast, and bacon. While eating he shivered lightly and looked down, '_No wonder, I forgot I slept in only my boxers last night._' he thought whilst taking a huge swig of his third cup of coffee this morning. Naruto usual slept in an old t-shirt and a pair of boxers, however in the summer he would just sleep in boxers, it was more comfortable with the _slightly_ higher temperatures.

As soon as breakfast was finished and cleaned up, Naruto went upstairs to shower, shave, and get ready to meet Temari at the gate.

XxxxX

As Naruto headed to the main gate it was already 7.45am, about fifteen minutes before Temari's possible arrival time. When Naruto arrived, he spotted Ko and Hanabi talking while he was on duty. Naruto decided to have a little bit of fun at their expense.

He walked up right behind Hanabi and said fairly loud, "Hanabi, we have got to stop meeting like this, what if Ko finds out? That would be so cruel to him." Hanabi whipped around and started to yell, but she didn't get to because Naruto was busy laughing his ass off at the both of them. They had both turned the same shade of red at the same time, it was _priceless_.

After he calmed down enough to listen, Hanabi looked at him, "Are you finished now?"

"Yes. Didn't think you would be here this early Ko." Naruto said.

"Yeah, unfortunately, Hanabi-chan came to keep me company for a few hours." Ko looked at her with a soft smile before turning back to Naruto, "The real question is why you are here Sensei."

"I have to meet Suna's new diplomat and escort her to see Tsunade, before we go home." Naruto replied quickly.

"Oh yeah I remember seeing that on the list today, didn't put the name down though. Wait you said 'she' anyone I know?" Ko asked. He only knew one female from Suna that would stay at Naruto's estate.

"Yeah you both know her. It's Temari." Naruto told both of them with a huge smile on his face.

"Great that means that she can hang out with us after everyone gets back." Ko replied with excitement. He had always liked her.

For the next ten minutes the three talked about random things, just catching up with one another. That was until a soft, smooth, feminine voice from behind said, "Excuse me _Sweetie_, I need to sign in."

When Naruto heard the mystery voice say 'sweetie' he slowly turned around to see who the familiar sounding voice belonged to while thinking, '_Please be Temari, please be Temari_' over and over in his head like a mantra.

Naruto's silent prayers came true because standing before him with her left hand on her hip was the very beautiful Temari. "Hey Naruto. Miss me?" she said coyly.

Instead of answering in words, Naruto grabbed her by the waist, picked her up and spun her around. She braced her arms on his shoulders and laughed happily until he set her down gently and pulled her into a hug, which she more than happily returned. Then he replied to her question in a whisper that only she could hear, "Hell yes I missed you. The real question is did you miss me?"

Temari tightened her grip on him and whispered back, "More than you know Sweetie." With a kiss on the cheek, they stepped away from each other. '_Really wish that would have lasted longer._' They both thought at the same time, however neither knew it.

Temari then proceeded to sign-in. She finally noticed Ko and his girlfriend looking at her rather strangely. '_I know I look bad after traveling… but damn this is getting annoying… and slightly creepy._' she thought. "Hey Ko… Hanabi long time no see?" Temari said in an attempt to break them away from whatever the hell they were staring at.

When she got no response from the staring pair of chunins, Naruto slide a hand around her waist, "Come on Hime, let's go see Baa-chan." And with that the blonde pair walked off towards the Hokage Tower to report in.

After Naruto and Temari had left, Ko and Hanabi finally snapped out of their shock induced state. She turned to Ko, "What the hell just happened between those two?" Hanabi asked.

Ko shook his head, "I have no freaking idea. I have never seen either of them act like that, but I haven't seen them together in like… two years. I guess something changed."

They both shared a look and shrugged, not really knowing what to think.

XxxxX

Tsunade was setting in her office doing paperwork…again. '_Ok seriously there can not be _this _much paperwork ever single day._' she thought while looking at the stacks that never seemed to get any smaller. A knock interrupted her grumbling, "Enter."

To her complete shock, in walked Naruto and Temari with their arms around each other's waists. '_This won't take as long as we thought after all.'_ she thought to herself. Out loud she greeted the pair of attractive blondes, "Hello guys, glad to see you this early in the morning." Tsunade said with a smile while looking at Temari.

Temari nodded and smiled back, "I'm glad to see you as well Tsunade. We are here to check-in as you requested." Her eyes never once leaving Tsunade during the exchange, '_Can't make her suspect anything, but I think she and Gaara both know exactly what's up, or at least a rough idea. _'

Tsunade just smiled, she had always liked Temari. Always well mannered and showed respect. "Well I am glad you had a safe trip. You two can go. Just report back here after your nine day vacation. Dismissed."

With that the two blonde's bowed and left. '_Those two will give me some beautiful grandkids one of these days._' She thought while returning to the evil paperwork.

XxxxX

After the pair left the Tower, Naruto pulled Temari to a stop, pulled her into a hug, and kissed her cheek. "I've wanted to that since you got here." Naruto said in a low whisper.

Temari sighed, "Me too. Can we get home? I need a shower and a change of cloths, I feel all dirty from traveling." she asked while they separated.

"Sure thing, but first," he took her pack off her back and put it on his, then picked her up bridal style before taking to the roof tops, "this way is faster, and you can rest. I know that you must be tired and hungry. So while you get changed, I'll make us an early lunch. Sound fair?"

Temari nodded, "Yeah that sounds fine, but you didn't need to carry me and my pack. I can still walk you know." She teased slightly, but made no real attempt to have him put her down. Instead she just enjoyed the feeling of his strong, warm arms wrapped around her. She turned her head slightly to inhale his unique scent, '_mmmm…like the woods after it rains._' It was always a comforting scent and she loved it.

They arrived at the Namikaze estate in just about five minutes. However once in the door, Naruto made no move to put her down, instead he walked up the stairs with Temari still in his arms. He walked into her bedroom and finally set her down gently on the bed. He placed her pack beside her.

"Thank you, but I could have walked once we got here you know." Temari said while going through her pack trying to find the right scrolls.

"I know, but I wanted to do it so I did. Take your time and when you're done come down stairs. I should have lunch done by then." With that Naruto walked out the door, closing it behind him.

"Always so sweet, Naruto." Temari whispered to herself while getting her stuff together for her shower.

After she found the correct scrolls, she gathered up her body wash, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, a change of cloths, and headed toward her bathroom. Temari undressed and stepped into the warm shower, a relaxed sigh escaped her lips while she went about getting rid of the dirt she had accumulated on her person while on the road. The scent of her jasmine shampoo and conditioner helped calm her down from the high of traveling and being with Naruto again, and she started to think while finishing her hair. Her thoughts automatically went to the blonde downstairs.

"He still is so sweet to me even after all the times we have been apart." she thought out loud. His actions toward her, was what earned him the nickname 'Sweetie' all those years ago, however along the way it stopped being a nickname and turned into a pet name for him instead. But she was the only one who knew it.

Kind of like how she acquired the 'hime' on the end of her name or as a replacement for it altogether…

When Gaara became the 5th Kazekage, Naruto and the rest of the 11 had been invited as personal guests of the family to attend the ceremony. After the week of celebration was over, the 11 were getting ready to leave Suna to go back home. As Naruto was saying goodbye to Temari, he bowed to her and said "Until we meet again Temari-hime." with a grin on his face to show he was joking. She slapped him upside the head for the playful jab at her brother's title, and her growing beauty since she had just turned sixteen.

However the name stuck, so it became her nickname, but after awhile it seemed to mean something more to him when he said it. Temari felt the change as well, it made her feel warm, safe…loved. Instead of annoyed like it had when he first started.

Temari finished her shower feeling a lot better than when she started. She grabbed her rose scented lotion and her cloths. After she finished with the lotion, Temari got dressed in a red tank top that showed a tiny sliver of her flat, toned stomach, with a pair of loose, black sweat pants. She left the bathroom and decided to unpack before heading downstairs.

XxxxX

After Naruto left Temari in her room, he headed downstairs to make lunch. While pulling out the ingredients for chicken teriyaki, his thoughts drifted to the blonde shinobi upstairs. He lowered his head to his shoulder and inhaled deeply, sighing at Temari's lingering scent on his cloths, '_Rose with a hint of jasmine, never changes._' he thought with a sigh. It always made him relax and had a calming, comforting effect as on him as well.

After he and the Kyuubi resolved their differences, the fox made some improvements on his jailors' body. The two main changes were the heightened senses, and an overhaul of Naruto's chakra coils to handle the fox's powerful chakra without damage or issue with control. However Naruto by far enjoyed his heightened senses the most, especially at times like these.

With that thought Naruto continued to cook lunch, while making Temari some of her favorite tea, jasmine with a hint of lemon. He was also in the process of chilling down enough sake for the both of them.

While Naruto was busy, the Kyuubi woke up and decided to make its presence known, '_**Hey kit, was that jasmine and rose I smell? Does that mean that your blonde female has finally come for a visit?**_' the Kyuubi asked.

'_Yes, she did and we are going to be spending a lot of time together so keep your furry nose out of my business. Go back to sleep!!_' and that was the end of the conversation with the furry pain in Naruto's ass.

Just as Naruto finished setting everything on the table Temari walked into the kitchen. "Wow Naruto, you didn't need to fix all of this." she said while looking at the meal that was laid out before her which consisted of chicken teriyaki, rice, steamed vegetables, fried dumplings, fresh fruit, tea, and chilled sake.

"I know I didn't need to, but I did because I'm starving and you have got to hungry yourself with all of the charka you used while running." Naruto stated while they both sat down and filled their plates.

They ate in silence for about ten minutes before Naruto spoke, "So when did you find out about this new job? I didn't until yesterday, but Baa-chan hinted about it the day before that." He finished while getting seconds.

Temari nodded, "The same happened to me. But Gaara told me on my day off so I could go shopping for it, but I didn't know about it at the time." she said before taking sip of her tea. '_He remembered my favorite tea, and how I like to drink it with honey instead of sugar._' she thought with a small smile on her lips.

Naruto laughed, "Did you leave him any money or did you take him to the cleaners?"

She giggled, "Cleaned him out. This," she gestured to her current cloths, "was one of the things I bought among other things."

Naruto shook his head at her and thought, '_Hope I get to see everything she bought, and knowing her she got some things that she knew I liked._'

After another hour of eating and catching up in general, the huge meal was finished and cleaned up. The two blondes headed up to Naruto's study to discuss their new jobs more in detail. "The first and only thing I think we should do today in regards to work, is to figure out where we will be for the next year since this job will at least last that long." Temari stated.

Naruto agreed, "That sounds fine. Let's see, we know that we will be in each village for two months, not counting the vacations we get when we return to Konoha. However we do not start until nine days from now, so that will put the start date in the first week of May." He finished while looking at the calendar.

In about ten minutes they had their year schedule roughly laid out since they didn't know any exact dates. It looked like they would be spending summer in Konoha, both of their birthdays in Suna, and Winter solstice and New Years in Konoha.

After that was all taken care of, they decided to relax the rest of the afternoon in Naruto's room reading. They were both on his couch relaxing with a different book from the same series.

About five o'clock that night Temari spoke up, "I think I'm going to go to bed Naruto, the traveling finally caught up with me." she said with a yawn.

"That's fine Temari, I'm going myself soon." he replied while setting his book down.

They both stood up and Temari was about to leave the room when she was spun around and pulled into a hug. "Nite Hime, try and sleep in tomorrow. We can go walk around the village so you can get familiar with everything again." Naruto whispered before kissing her cheek.

She kissed him back and let go, "You too Sweetie. See in the morning." and with that she left. She got to her room and closed the door behind her. Temari headed to her dresser to pull out her night wear which for tonight was a light blue spaghetti strap top with a pair of matching shorts that ended mid-thigh. She got dressed, brushed her teeth, took down her hair, brushed it out, and crawled into bed. In about ten minutes, she was asleep.

XxxxX

Temari had been asleep for about seven hours when she was woken up by an excruciating pain in both of her legs. She shot up and grabbed her lower legs to stop the pain, but it didn't do any good.

"Damn it , I forgot to use that medical jutsu on my legs like I did last night." she whispered angrily to herself. Since she didn't heal the strain she put on her legs, they were cramping up on her.

In other words, she had very painful shin splints, and they would most likely last for hours.

She tried to rub her legs to relieve the soreness and pain she felt but it didn't do any good. The pain eased off after a few minutes so she laid back down hoping that the worst was over, however it was just really getting started.

A few minutes later, Temari was almost back to sleep when she felt her heels being drawn back toward the back of her legs. When they had contracted completely the pain returned with a vengeance.

She cried out with a pain-filled groan. The pain showed no signs of letting up, so Temari tried to flex her feet to relieve the pressure on her muscles, she moved them about an inch before they snapped back to their original position, it was too painful. She tried again, but her feet wouldn't move this time, her muscles had completely seized up. The pain kept on getting stronger with every breath she took.

It took every ounce of strength Temari had to not scream out in pain. She didn't want to wake up Naruto with the noise she was making because of her own stupidity. However she couldn't stop the tears from falling. So she curled up in a ball the best she could and cried, waiting for the pain to stop.

That was how Naruto found her.

Ten minutes before…

Naruto had been in bed about four hours when he heard a loud groan come from Temari's room. He woke up and looked at the clock, it was 12.00am. "She should still be asleep, maybe she's just dreaming." he told himself. With his sensitive hearing he had been woken up before by his house guests by the sounds they would make while they slept.

He was about to go back to sleep when he heard her crying, "Ok that is not a dream." Naruto told himself as he got out of bed, threw on a shirt and pants, and walked out of his room heading for Temari's. He opened her door and was heart broken at the scene before him. She was on her bed curled up in a ball while grabbing her legs and crying in pain.

He walked over and moved some of her hair out of her face and sat down on the edge of the bed, "What's wrong Hime, why are you crying?" Naruto asked softly.

Temari took a breath to steady her voice to answer him, "I forgot to heal the strain I put on my legs with all the running and I've got really, really bad shin splints." She groaned in pain, "My muscles have completely seized up." she finished explaining before a fresh round of pain hit her like a ton of bricks.

It was then that Naruto noticed her legs. Her feet were contracted so much that her heels were almost touching the backs of her ankles, and her lower legs looked ridged with a slight spasm or twitch every so often. '_Good lord, I'm surprised she isn't screaming. I've got to loosen the muscles up and fast._' he thought while carefully running his hand over her right leg. It was as hard as a rock.

With Naruto's limited amount of medical knowledge, he knew that heat would work the best. So he carefully picked Temari up and walked out of the room toward the hot spring.

She looked up at him, "Where are you taking me?" she asked when they left the house.

"To the hot spring. It's the only thing that will loosen up your muscles enough to stop the pain." Naruto replied as he found the entrance within the natural rock formation surrounding the spring. Once inside he lowered Temari into a sitting position with her lower legs and feet in the water.

She hissed at the feeling of the water but it eased the pain slightly. Naruto jumped in the water and stood in front of her. "You're getting your cloths all wet you know." Temari told him while looking at his face.

"I know and I don't care about that. Do your legs feel any looser now." he asked while putting his hands on her shoulders

She nodded, "Yes, but now you are all wet because of my stupidity. I was hoping not to wake you up, but I forgot about how good your hearing is." Temari looked down at her lap, slightly annoyed with herself.

Naruto gently lifted her head up by her chin so he could look in her teal blue eyes. '_Even when she has been crying, she still is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen._' he thought while brushing a stray tear away that slid down her cheek with his thumb. Out loud he said, "If you feel better, then I don't care if I get wet. I can change cloths, and I'm glad I woke up when I heard you. Temari you were in pain, and I care about you too much to let you suffer the way you were."

Temari thought about it, '_I'm glad he came to help me, just having him being here makes me feel better._' That thought brought a small smile to her face before she answered him, "Your right, thank you." Temari hugged him and he hugged her back. She noticed that the pain was almost gone.

Naruto nuzzled her hair lightly with his cheek before pulling back to look at her, "Is the pain gone yet?"

She nodded slightly, "Not completely, but it feels a whole better than before."

Naruto then lifted her left leg out of the water slightly, "Ok, I'm going to try and move your foot back to normal. This may hurt, but it will not last long." Temari nodded and braced herself for the pain.

He carefully took her heel and slowly pulled it forward. Temari hissed in pain, but her foot was back to normal nonetheless. With that one done, Naruto returned it to the water and repeated the process with the right foot.

After a few more minutes of soaking her now relaxed legs in the water, Naruto hopped out of the water and picked Temari up gently. He put her down on a nearby rock and carefully dried off her legs with a towel. When he was done, Naruto activated a medical jutsu and applied it to Temari's legs and feet. "This is something I learned from Baa-chan. It acts like a muscle relaxer and a pain killer. This will keep you from being sore in the morning and keep the pain from coming back as well."

Temari looked at Naruto, "Thanks Sweetie." she was going to say more but she yawned.

Naruto laughed, "Come on Hime, let's get you back to bed." And with that Naruto picked her up and went back to the house.

When the pair reached Temari's room, she expected for him to put her down but instead, he adjusted her weight and grabbed her pillows off the bed then left the room. "Where are we going now?" she asked with confusion clearly on her face.

"My room, I want to make sure you're not going to have a repeat performance." Naruto told her while setting her down on the opposite side of the bed with her pillows before going to his dresser to get dry cloths and heading to the bathroom to change.

When the bathroom door shut, Temari fixed her pillows and laid down to get comfortable. '_The whole bed smells like him…mmmmm I'll sleep well tonight_' she thought happily to herself.

In about five minutes, Naruto emerged from the bathroom in a grey t-shirt and a pair of black boxers. He crawled into bed beside Temari and turned to face her. "Good night Hime, sleep well." he kissed her cheek softly before laying down himself.

Temari stroked the side of his face gently and leaned forward to kiss him back, "You to Sweetie. See you in the morning." she said softly before getting comfortable before sleep claimed her once again.

With that they both went to sleep.

XxxxX

**AN**: Well that's it for this chapter. Hope it lived up to what you all expected it to be. If you have any questions of ideas drop me a review. Until next time…


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything except for the plot.

**AN**: Welcome back for chapter 6. Thanks for all the reviews and the attention you guys are paying to the story. Helps me write faster.

Sorry I have not updated in awhile. Life came up and I had to deal with it. I'm in the middle of moving to a new apartment and setting it up. That takes a long time for those of you who don't know; especially when you have to do it all alone.

One more note, I will not abandon this story for any reason. Writing is my hobby and work, school, and life in general take precedent to everything else. So to compensate for the three month wait, I gave you an extra long chapter that I have been working on since my last update.

I have received a few complaints since my last AN about how I have written the characters. Again I plead creative license for the whole story.

I will write this story the way _I_ want to. If you have a problem with that, then write your own damn story!!!!!!!!!!! If I wanted Naruto to dye his hair purple, wear a pink dress, and running around singing 'I'm a little teapot' then I will do it because this is my story. So please do not tell me anything else about how I wrote this wrong or you don't like the way I wrote something. Sorry rant over. It just really gets on my nerves.

Again I didn't mean to offend anyone, just stating my opinion. Criticism is welcome; however do not go on an unnecessary tangent about how I wrote something, please.

Wow this got long fast, anyway don't forget to review. Enjoy…

XxxxX

**Chapter 6**

Temari was having the best nights' sleep that she could ever remember. She snuggled deeper under the covers and hugged her firm, warm pillow not ready to wake up yet.

'_Wait…my pillow isn't firm and most importantly warm._' Temari thought with her sleep-hazed mind. She slowly opened her eyes to see where she was.

Temari first noticed that she wasn't alone or in her room. She slowly lifted her head up to figure out what was going on. Without moving her body, she looked around the room, '_I'm in Naruto's room? But I thought I went to sleep… That's right I got leg cramps and he brought me in here._' After she remembered the previous night's experiences, Temari turned her head back to look up at Naruto, who was still sleeping peacefully.

However what got her attention was how they were positioned. During the night, they had moved toward one another and were intertwined slightly. Naruto was on his back with his right arm wrapped around her waist, whereas Temari was on her left side with her right arm thrown over his clothed torso. She was using his shoulder for a pillow and both of their legs were intertwined. But she made no move to separate from him though.

'_Well this explains why I'm so comfortable._' she thought off-handedly while studying his sleeping face. She gently reached up to brush some of the hair out of his eyes, '_It's like silk.' _she thought. Temari then brought her hand down to stroke his jaw softly.

He sighed contently and it made her smile. "He's so handsome even when he's sleeping." she said softly to herself before looking at the clock on his nightstand.

"Oh hell no…not getting up at 5am when I don't have to." Temari mumbled to herself before returning her head to Naruto's shoulder and going back to sleep.

Four hours later…

Naruto was slowly waking up from a long night sleep; however he noticed a few things were different. The right side of his body was warmer than it should be, but it was not unpleasant, and his right arm was asleep. Without opening his eyes or moving from his current position, Naruto used his other senses to figure out what was causing the differences.

He clearly felt something laying slightly on his right side and his arm was holding it to him securely, but gently at the same time. It was then that he heard and felt steady breathing from the object, '_Well it's alive…_' he thought.

As Naruto was about to open his eyes to find out exactly what was in his bed, he caught the scent of rose and jasmine. '_Wait…is that what I think it is, or better put _who_ I think it is?_' With that thought, Naruto slowly opened his eyes to reveal that it was Temari who was next to him.

"Why is she in bed with me?... That's right I carried her in here after we got back from the hot spring, but weren't we on different sides of the bed?" He wondered quietly out loud to himself. But quickly shrugged off the question since it didn't really matter now.

He glanced at the clock, "9.00am, well might as well just enjoy this moment before Temari wakes up." Naruto reasoned with himself. With that thought he looked over at Temari's sleeping face and began to study it. She had a peaceful look on her face that was absent most of the time when she was awake, but still just as beautiful.

Her hair was down, which also helped with the relaxed, peaceful look. Naruto had always loved her hair, even when it was pulled up into her signature four pony tails, it reminded Naruto of his hair because it would be spiky in its appearance. But down it looked nothing like his, it was shoulder length with a slight wave to it. He raised his left hand and ran his fingers softly over her light blonde hair. '_Like corn silk…_' he thought offhandedly while continuing his ministrations on her hair. Temari sighed contently and it brought a soft smile to his face.

Naruto stopped what he was doing so that he would not wake her accidently and continued to study the blonde beauty before him. Naruto looked over her skin, to find that it was also perfect, although there were small scars and nicks that she had gotten over the years of being a shinobi, but they only added to the beauty of her naturally tanned skin in his opinion.

After studying her skin he thought about how perfect their bodies seem to fit together, all of her curves fit perfectly into the contours of his body. They were like two puzzle pieces that were made for each other.

With that passing observation, Temari started to wake-up. Naruto watched as her eyes fluttered open to reveal that striking teal color that was slightly unfocused from sleep. Temari lifted her head up slightly to take in her surroundings before looking at Naruto, "Hey Sweetie. Sleep well?" Temari asked, her voice slightly hoarse from sleep.

"Yes I did. How are your legs doing Temari?" he asked with slight concern in his voice, which Temari noticed immediately because he didn't use her nickname. He always did that when he was concerned or something was bothering him.

Temari flexed her legs slightly before answering, "A little stiff, but nothing a shower can't fix. How long have you been awake?" she asked with slight curiosity. '_Has to have been awhile, he looks fully awake to me…_' she thought while waiting for the answer.

Naruto looked at the clock, "About 30 minutes, but I didn't mind. I wanted you to sleep till you were ready to get up. Seeing that I couldn't move without waking you up in the process." he told her truthfully. '_Not that I was in a hurry to move…_' Naruto added to himself.

"Oh…thanks." was all Temari said while enjoying being wrapped around Naruto. After a few minutes she spoke again. "What are we going to do today anyway?"

Naruto thought about it, "Well we can walk around the village so you can familiarize yourself with it again since there are a few changes that weren't here the last time you visited, and then we can go from there. Does that sound like a plan?"

Temari nodded, "Yeah that sounds fine with me since I need to be familiar with the village anyway, but I do not want to do any work until after the vacation is over." She stated firmly, which left no room for compromise.

Naruto agreed with her, '_I love it when she's forceful_' he thought as they lapsed into silence once again. Neither one wanted to move but both knew that they had to eventually. After about five minutes, Naruto sat up slowly allowing Temari to move off of him. She also sat up next to him.

"Well I need a shower, so how about I meet you in the kitchen in about 10 minutes to make breakfast ok?" Naruto asked.

"Sure that sounds like a plan." and with that they got up and went their separate ways.

Naruto walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. With a sigh he stripped and got into the shower. While the warm water was beating on his back, he started to think about the morning and what had happened with Temari. "I think that we need to talk about getting together. I know that I have wanted it for the awhile and I think she has too, but I don't really know because we never talked about the possibility before." He thought out loud to the empty room.

"I don't want to wait anymore, this morning was perfect and I want that with Temari everyday, no other girl has made me feel like this. Hinata came close, but this is on a whole other level than what I felt with her." With that thought in mind, Naruto finished his shower and wrapped a towel around himself before heading out of the bathroom and toward his closet.

After deciding on a black shirt with a pair of light colored pants, since he wasn't on duty he dressed casually, Naruto exited his closet. However he did grab one of his weapon pouches, a shinobi never went anywhere unarmed off duty or not, and put it on his belt as he was heading to the kitchen to meet Temari.

His mind already forming a plan so that he could make asking Temari perfect tonight, and he knew just what to do…

XxxxX

Temari by-passed her room and went straight for the kitchen. "Since he cooked lunch for us yesterday, I can cook breakfast for us today." she stated to the empty kitchen as she put on the kettle for her tea and started some coffee for Naruto. While that was working she set to work on making eggs, toast, bacon, and slicing some fresh fruit to finish off the meal. After everything was done, including the drinks, Temari set the table and waited for Naruto to finish getting ready while sipping her tea.

While she waited, Temari thought about this morning and how great it had been waking up next to Naruto. Her musing was short lived when she heard Naruto coming down the stairs.

"Ok what do you want for…" was as far as Naruto got with that thought before he saw Temari waiting for him with breakfast already cooked and laid out. "You didn't have to do this you know?" he said while sitting down across from her.

"I know I didn't, but I wanted to. Besides you cooked for me yesterday, I was just returning the favor Sweetie" Temari said while taking a sip of her tea to hide the smile on her face.

Naruto took a sip from his coffee cup before answering, "Thanks but it makes me feel bad, you are a guest here you know. How about I clean up while you get ready to go?"

"I was hoping for that arrangement anyway." Temari smiled before taking a bite of her eggs. "However just because I am technically a guest here does not mean that I cannot help out a little. You will do the exact same thing when we go to Suna, and you know it." she said while pointing her fork at him to emphasize her point before stabbing a blueberry.

Naruto just nodded while finishing off his toast. She was right about him helping out while in Suna. Every time they would stay at each others estates, they always helped out with something, mostly cooking. It made it better since Temari had always been a good cook.

They continued breakfast in silence for about five minutes until Temari asked a question that she thought of back in Suna before she left. "Naruto I was wondering, who taught you how to fight with your sword?"

"Well I was taught by my squad captain when I first got promoted into ANBU, later I was trained by the former Captain when I got promoted to take his place when I got my second sword." Naruto explained before asking a question of his own, "Why do you ask Hime?"

"I was wondering if you could teach me. I bought a sword before I left Suna, but I really don't know anything besides the bare basics. I don't think our family has a style, but I have never really looked because I never could find the right sword." She told him. '_I need to write Gaara and ask him to look for me. I'm sure there is something in the vault somewhere…_' Temari thought while waiting for an answer.

"Well I can help you with some of the basics, but beyond that I can't. No one outside of ANBU can learn those styles, they can only be used by current and former members. The same goes for the dual sword style as well, but only former and current Captains can use that style." Naruto stated truthfully, however he didn't mention that teaching them to anyone that was not ANBU or in line for Captain, was an automatic death sentence.

"The same goes for my family styles. You know clan laws just like I do, no one outside a clan can learn their style." Naruto finished regretfully. He really wanted to help her, but his hands were tied.

"That's fine I understand, just the basics would be great. I can't really remember what they taught at the academy since it was sooo long ago. I'm going to send a message to Gaara about looking for any scrolls in the vault since I'm sure that someone in our clan has fought with a sword, but it has been a very long time though." Temari said before continuing to eat.

Naruto nodded and was about to start eating again before something came to mind, "Temari, why don't you ask Tenten to help you when we see her tomorrow? I know she will gladly help you, since styles can be different for men and women. Plus she is always willing to help since she is a weapons expert, and I don't think any of her styles are clan related either."

Temari perked up at that thought, "Yeah that's a great idea!!! Plus I can spend some time with my best girl friend in the process." she said very excited at the idea.

Tenten and Temari had been best friends for years, they were the same age so they could relate to each other. Tenten also loved helping when it came to weapons, however Temari had been trying to get her to use a battle fan for ages since it could help with her fire affinity and techniques, but Tenten never liked them because they weren't sharp and pointy. '_Hmmm, maybe I can convince her when I ask her to help me with my sword. Make a deal of sorts…_' she thought before finishing her breakfast.

Temari drank the last of her tea before standing up, "I'm going to go get ready so we can go." And with that she went upstairs to get dressed.

Naruto stood up after he heard Temari going up the stairs. He created two shadow clones and instructed them to clean-up the kitchen while he quickly went up to his study to write a message. After Naruto was done writing he bit his thumb, ran threw the hand signs, slammed his hand on the ground, and said "Summoning Jutsu." A spider web design appeared from his hand accompanied by a puff of smoke with a small popping sound and a small, orange two-tailed fox appeared with a Konoha headband around its neck and a small backpack on its back.

"**Hey Naruto, what can I do for you?**" the summon asked with curiosity.

"Hey Spark, I need you to take this message to Choji, if you cannot find him then look for his dad, and if that fails look for his mom. Just get this to him and wait for a reply. When you get it, bring it back to the house and put it on my bed, do not come find me." Naruto finished while putting the scroll in the fox's backpack.

Spark nodded that he understood, but he asked a question before leaving, "**Why is this so important?**" he asked while tilting his head to the side in obvious curiosity.

"It's for dinner reservations for tonight. I want to take someone out." was all Naruto said.

"**Oh ok, and by someone you mean Temari right?**" Spark said with a knowing grin. He was the messenger for the two just like Jade was so he knew her scent well, just like Jade knew Naruto's.

Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly at the fox, '_Forgot he knows her scent like I do…must have smelled her on me._' He thought before answering Spark, "Yes it is, now go before she sees you, it's a surprise so go." And with that Spark ran out of the study to complete his mission.

Naruto ran back downstairs, dismissed the clones, and waited patiently for Temari hoping that she was none the wiser to his plans for later that day.

XxxxX

Temari walked into her room and shut the door before moving into the bathroom to brush her teeth. After that was done she went to her closet and picked out a light purple shirt with a pair of khaki colored shorts that ended mid-thigh. After dressing quickly she put her hair in the 4 tails like usual. She also grabbed a weapons pouch and one of her small bladed fans which was easily hidden in her shirt, after all she couldn't go around unarmed.

She was about to leave to go back downstairs when her jewelry box caught her eye, '_Why not, it's not like I'm on duty…_' she thought while looking threw it. Temari pulled out a pair of silver drop earrings with a pale purple, pear shaped stone set at the bottom, a silver necklace with a pendant that matched the earrings, and a silver bracelet that had a braided design to it.

After putting on her selections she grabbed her shoes, a pair of beige sandals with a slight heel, and went downstairs. She found Naruto waiting for her in the cleaned up kitchen. "Alright I'm ready. Lets go." and with that the pair left the house and started toward the front gate of the compound.

"Okay where do you wanna start from?" Temari asked while looking around once outside the gate.

"How about we start with the estate section and work our way from there." Temari nodded and with that they started walking. "This section hasn't changed much since you were here last, so everything should look familiar." Naruto said as they approached the newest housing district in Konoha, the old Uchiha estate.

After the last loyal member left the village nine years ago, the council had wanted to save it in case the clan could be rebuilt. However a few years ago, the council realized that goal would never be reached so they decided to make it a housing sector for the wealthy members of the village that did not belong to clans instead. The project had just been finished so it was still mostly empty.

"This is the only new addition to this part of town, but not many people live here yet. I think maybe four houses have been sold." Naruto told Temari as they walked by. After exiting the estate and the residential districts, the blondes headed for the shopping district.

This had always been one of Temari's favorite parts of Konoha. It varied so much from Suna's, but it was still the same in a lot of ways. She noticed a few new shops and made a mental note of the new additions. '_I think that me and the girls need to plan a shopping day during our vacation…_' she thought as they started toward the academy, hospital, and Hokage Tower.

In another hour the pair was heading toward the training grounds and the memorial stone. Naruto spoke up when he saw the memorial stone. "I'm surprised Kakashi isn't here. He used to spend so much time here when I was younger, it was the main reason he was always late." he paused thinking about his gennin days on Team 7. They approached the stone so Naruto could pay his respects to the few people he knew that had been killed.

Temari stood beside him while his eyes located the names that he knew. '_I wish we had something like this in Suna. This is one change that will make the list…_' Temari thought while she looked over the names. A question entered her mind, but she was hesitant to ask, "Naruto, are your parents on here too?" He had never said so she was curious.

He nodded his head, "Yeah my father's name is here and my mother's name is here," he said while tracing each of their names in turn, "It took me forever to find their names for the first time when I found out about my parents. Since I only came here to talk to the Third, I had a frame of reference of where to look."

Naruto was silent for a few minutes before Temari asked another question, "Is every Konoha shinobi that dies get added to this stone?"

"Yeah, unless they left the village and became traitors. Even if they die of old age, you get added. Eventually all of our friends and I will be added, but hopefully not for a very, very long time." With that thought and a silent prayer, the two continued on toward the training grounds.

In a happier mood than just a minute ago, Naruto spoke, "Here are the training grounds. Since you will be here for awhile, you get access to the grounds just like the rest of us. However if you destroy too much landscape, you will have to pay for a gennin team to fix the damage."

Temari nodded, but she got a sly smirk on her face, "And just how many times have you had to pay Sweetie?"

"Enough, and let's leave it at that." Naruto replied swiftly before moving on to the next point. "All that's left is the hot spring area. So lets go." and with that the two headed toward their destination.

After about a five minute walk to the local hot springs and a quick tour, the two blondes were just about to head back to the shopping district to have lunch when they heard a giggling sound coming from the women's side of the spring. Temari looked at Naruto, "Did you hear that?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, I heard it." he replied with a sigh and a shake of the head.

"So you know who it is then?" Temari asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh yeah I know, and as a matter of fact, so do you." Naruto stated matter-of-factly.

"I know who? But who is that perverted?... Oh my Kama, please tell me its not Jiraiya!" Temari asked in an exacerbated tone.

Naruto just nodded his head slightly before saying, "Lets go say hi to the idiot before he gets caught…again."

With that the two walked behind the complex and found Jiraiya with his spyglass pressed to a peephole in the fence along with his notepad writing down notes. "Come on baby turn around… there you are beautiful."

Naruto and Temari walked up behind him without being seen, so Temari decided to have some fun. She looked at Naruto and smiled slyly before saying, "Hey what are you doing back here pervert?!" she said in an annoyed, slightly angry tone.

Jiraiya jumped at the unexpected voice and turned around to see who it was but, he was instead greeted by a laughing Naruto and Temari. He grabbed the pair of blondes by the arm before they were caught and dragged them a little distance away from the complex. He looked a them with an angry look, "What the hell was that for? You shouldn't scare an old man like that."

Naruto just laughed at his former teacher. "Well you old pervert, you shouldn't be peeking anyway. You just got released from the hospital like 2 days ago. Let me guess, research for your books, right?"

"As a matter of fact, yes it is for research. Not that you would understand since you never read any of my books in the first place. And I'm not a pervert, I'm a SUPER PERVERT!!!!!!" Jiraiya yelled with his finger pointing toward the sky.

Both blondes just rolled their eyes at the Sannin's antics. As they were about to walk away, Jiraiya noticed that Naruto was with Temari. "Well, well I haven't seen you around here in awhile Temari. Your looking as beautiful as ever. How long are you staying this time?" he asked with his 'smooth, seductive' voice he used on women he was hitting on, which was every young woman he saw.

Temari just laughed, "I'll be here for two months. New assignment with Naruto. You want specifics, go ask Tsunade. Now if you will excuse us, we are on our way to lunch." Temari said in a friendly tone before grabbing Naruto by the arm and walking back the way they came.

As Jiraiya watched the two walk off i.e. Temari walk off, he had a thought, '_Maybe I should spy on them while their here. Could be good material for a new book, Icha Icha Desert Love. Not like they would ever know anyway since they never read my books…_' With that thought, he went back to peeping on the women in the hot spring again.

XxxxX

When they were a good distance from the hot spring district Temari stopped short and looked at Naruto when he stopped. "What's wrong Temari?"

"I should be asking you the same question Sweetie. You have been tense since we left the pervert. Now what's wrong?" she crossed her arms over her chest and waited for an answer.

Naruto looked straight at her, "Nothing is wrong Temari." he said with conviction.

She snorted, "You are such a liar Naruto! Don't even try to deny it either. Now tell me what is wrong or else." Temari waited with a raised eyebrow while thinking, '_Never has been able to lie, unless it is job related._'

With a sigh Naruto answered, "I don't like it when Jiraiya hits on you okay. It creeps me out." He looked at her trying to gauge her reaction.

Temari was silent for a few moments before she busted out laughing. After a few more minutes she recovered enough to answer the now slightly pissed off Naruto. "I'm sorry Sweetie. I just didn't know you were jealous of someone who hits on anything young and female. Besides I just ignore it anyway." To prove that she was sorry, she hugged him until he got over his mood and returned it.

After they released each other Naruto said, "Okay I accept your apology. Now let's go eat."

XxxxX

After another two hours, the pair finally walked back into the estate. When they were back in the house Naruto turned to Temari, "I need to run up to my room and see if I got any messages from Baa-chan. I'll be back in a few."

"Sure take your time, I'm going to get some sake anyway." Temari replied while heading toward the kitchen.

With that Naruto headed up the stairs to his suite. Once there he saw Spark asleep in the middle of his bed. Naruto sat down on his bed and shook the summon awake. Spark looked at him with sleepy eyes and yawned, "**Hey, I got the message to Choji's dad. He said to be there at 7.45 tonight.**" Spark said before a final yawn and popping back to the summon realm.

After Spark left, Naruto looked at the clock, it was just after one. "Okay so seven hours before we have to go. Might as well go check and see if I actually have a message." With tonight's plans figured out, Naruto ran up to his study to see two scrolls on his desk, both had the ANBU Captain's blood seal on them. With a sigh of actually having to do work on his vacation, he bit his thumb and opened the thicker scroll first after swiping blood over the seal. Once opened about twenty folders appeared with a letter from Yamato on top of the stack.

_Naruto-taichou,_

_Here are the files on the possible recruits that you requested. I have narrowed it down to these possible twenty. The other scroll is the monthly intelligent report from your spy network. Also Hokage-sama has requested the recruits be decided today._

_Yamato_

After reading the enclosed letter, Naruto opened the smaller scroll and quickly read threw it. He made some mental notes on leads to check out and others to see how they developed. Naruto had taken over Jiraiya's spy network when he became ANBU Captain since the Sannin wanted to stay in Konoha more since he was getting older. During that time, Naruto managed to not only expand the already huge network, but made it twice as effective than before without having to leave the village for months on end. So with a final pass over the smaller scroll, Naruto quickly wrote a message to Yamato.

_Yamato,_

_I need you to assemble all available ANBU for a briefing in one hour. Also I have enclosed missions that need to be written up as well. Have them done in an hour._

_Naruto_

With the message written, Naruto opened the window, ran threw a few quick hand signs ending on the one-handed ram, and flared his chakra for about five seconds to call a messenger hawk. This was the preferred messenger service for in-village delivers. All Jonin in the village learned the jutsu when they were promoted.

Once a hawk appeared on the window ledge, he put the message on its leg before telling it who to deliver it to, "Take this to Yamato please." and with that the hawk flew away to deliver its message.

A hour later Naruto went downstairs to find Temari. He found her on the porch sipping some chilled sake while reading a book. He walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. She looked up at him and smiled while placing her hand over his and squeezing it gently. "What's up Sweetie?"

Naruto looked at her sadly before telling her the cover story he told his friends when he had ANBU business, "I have to go see Baa-chan, the council needs to vote on something and I have to be there. I should be back in a couple of hours though." All the while hoping that Temari would not notice the lie, she could always read him like a book.

Temari looked at him for a moment before answering, "Sure thing, I understand. See you in a few hours." she said before giving his hand one final squeeze before turning back to her book.

Naruto sighed in relief, but passed it off as being annoyed before turning to leave, "Oh I almost forgot. I made plans for us tonight to celebrate our new positions. So be ready by 7.45 and dress-up for dinner."

Temari looked at him surprised, "Yeah…I'll be ready." was all she said before Naruto vanished in a swirl of wind and leaves. She simple shrugged her shoulders and returned to reading, thinking about what to wear in the back of her mind.

'_Hmmmm, maybe that new dress…_'

XxxxX

In front of ANBU headquarters a swirl of leaves appeared, Naruto stepped out and walked into the building. Once inside he immediately headed toward the briefing room which held all of the available ANBU that had assembled per his request. Naruto walked up to the front of the room on the slightly raised stage. Everyone in the room fell silent and awaited their orders. After getting the mission scrolls from Yamato he proceeded with the briefing.

"Alright listen up," Naruto said with authority and acted every inch the captain he was, "I am here to assign new positions within the village, S class missions, and double-S class missions." Naruto turned to Yamato and grabbed the first scroll before turning back to his subordinates, "First is to switch up the guarding of the village, Teams 1 and 2 are now on guard duty and Teams 29 and 30 are given a week off before returning to mission duty. Understood?"

The four teams in question replied with a "Hai."

"Good, you are dismissed" The four teams stood up, bowed, and left after receiving the mission scrolls since it was not necessary to stay. "Alright next is to who will be in charge of the entrance test for the new recruits. Team 3 will handle it. Here are the details." Naruto flipped the scroll to the team captain, "Dismissed."

This was how the assignments were dispersed to the remaining teams. Most were missions like finding out who made it into the other village's bingo books, checking on leads of varies missing ninja, any missions that Tsunade needed done, and following other leads on various things that Naruto's spy network had turned up.

Finally there was only one team left awaiting their assignment. "Alright this assignment is very high priority, triple S-rank to be exact. We received some very good intel about Konoha's last remaining missing ninja. This needs to be checked out before we can move. You are to proceed to the Land of Water. You will meet up with your contact just outside the border. The ANBU will assist you from then on out while on this mission, and will remain there after the mission is done. Learn what you can and report back in two months to Yamato only. He will give the report to me himself. Do not write anything down or do anything that can be traced back to Konoha. The details of the mission, your cover ID's, fake papers, and the pass phrases for your contact are in the scroll. The scroll cannot leave this building, so memorize everything and destroy it afterword. Operation Mongoose starts in three hours. Dismissed."

With the last team leaving after being given the scroll, Naruto turned to Yamato, "Well I need to report to Baa-chan. Take care of everything. I'll check-in before the recruitment exam." Naruto quickly vanished in a swirl of leaves before Yamato could reply.

XxxxX

Tsunade was sitting in her office doing what every Kage hates, paperwork. She was trying to kill time until Naruto arrived with the list of new ANBU recruits. This caused her to pause while reading a report.

When Naruto had taken over ANBU, it had 25 teams with five members each including a captain and they were extremely specialized. Now the division had 50 teams total with ten members each and diversified. Tsunade had been surprised when he did this, but it worked out for the best as the division had grown in strength that it was rare for a member to get killed while on a mission. It also helped to get things done faster when it counted. She smiled while thinking, '_If he turned ANBU around in two years from a small, under-manned unit to this well oiled and feared machine, then I can't wait to see how he improves the village as the Sixth._'

She was interrupted from her musing by a swirl of leaves in the middle of her office. Tsunade looked up, "Finally, I never thought you would get here." She said with a little relief in her voice from being saved from all the paperwork on her desk.

Naruto plopped down in a chair opposite her before speaking, "Sorry Baa-chan, had to hand out missions and rotate duties within the village. Here are the copies of all of that by the way." Naruto said as he handed the scrolls to her.

She took them and placed them to the side to look over later and finalize. "Alright let's get down to business. I gave Yamato 75 possible names of recruits. How many did you pick?" she said while crossing her hands in front of her waiting for the explanation.

The younger blonde pulled out the last scroll from his kunai pouch to read over. "Well Yamato narrowed the list down to 20 before giving it to me, and I narrowed it down to 10 recruits." Naruto explained with practiced ease.

Tsunade was not that pleased, "Why in Kami's name did you only pick 10 out of 75!?" She said with barely restrained agitation.

Naruto looked her straight in the eye before replying, "Because most of those people on that list wouldn't last threw one mission before they were killed, let alone the exam!! I only picked the best of the best, which is the way it is supposed to be. With these 10 the training will not be wasted along with lives of Konoha shinobi in the process."

Tsunade thought it over for a minute, "Okay I can see where you are coming from, however these ten better be damn good." She finished with a small glare directed at the blonde in front of her.

Naruto just returned the glare before telling her about the chosen recruits starting from ten and working to the top. When he had the top four left Naruto paused, "Okay these four are the best fit for ANBU and should become team captains in no time."

This got Tsunade's attention, normally when Naruto said this it came true. She urged him to continue to sate her growing curiosity.

When he received a nod from Tsunade he continued, "Alright, number 4 is Neji Hyuuga. He has the intelligents, speed, and his bloodline would defiantly be an asset as well. Not to mention it would help give him an elevated status in the clan. Number 3 is Shikamaru Nara. While he may be lazy, he is a genius when it comes to planning, his family techniques, and ability to adapt while on a mission are very useful as well."

So far Tsunade had agreed with the those two, "I agree completely, however I want to know the last two before I give the final say."

Naruto nodded and continued, he was slightly worried about these next two. "Number 2 is Rock Lee. Now before you saw anything Baa-chan," Naruto could see that she was about to object, "if you ignore his stupid behavior from time to time he is one of the best. He is strong, fast, loyal, and will follow orders no matter what. Plus he could help beef-up some of the other member's taijutsu skills, not to mention he is well suited for kenjutsu as well since he has the flexibility and strength already."

While Tsunade thought it over it made more and more since. "Just one last question before we discuss the last one on your list. Why did you pick these last four from the 11? Since I have a feeling the top pick is also a member."

Naruto sighed before answering, "I thought it was time. I mean I'm the only one to make ANBU, and they deserve the promotion, but I only picked the ones that are really ready. We are not ready to start losing friends yet." He got a smirk on his face before continuing, "Not to mention I can't wait to see the look on their faces when they see me as the Captain still." he finished with a chuckle thinking about his friends reactions.

Tsunade laughed slightly also picturing this as well. However she could not fault his logic either. It was high time some other members of the 11 got promoted. She hoped to see them all in ANBU one day soon being lead by Naruto as Captain before he became Hokage. "Alright so far everyone will get the promotion that is on your list. But I want to know who number one is."

"Alright number 1 on the list is Ino Yamanaka. She is a very talented medic, smart, follows orders, her family jutsu's will be very usefully, and not to mention her bond with butterflies she has since Shino has been teaching her his family jutsu's will also be an asset. She is probably the best, well-rounded recruit on the list." Naruto concluded while rolling up the scroll and handing it to Tsunade. He waited for the discussion that he knew was coming.

Tsunade took the scroll from him and leaned back in her chair to process the information. While she was happy about the ten picked especially the top pick being a former student of hers, but she had to ask why her other students weren't picked as well since she had recommended them; along with the rest of the 11.

"Like I said before, all of the ten selected will be accepted pending their entrance exam. However why did you only pick Ino, Lee, Neji, and Shikamaru when I put the others on the list also?" she said while playing with a random paper on her desk trying not to look overly curious.

Naruto sighed heavily before answering since he knew that this discussion would not be fun, "Well, for starters I could not pick Kiba because he still has a gennin team and the next chunin exams are not for three months still. However he will be accepted in six months when we take on more rookies. Choji wasn't accepted because he has a new girlfriend. You know how hard ANBU rookies have it, so I wanted to wait six months before recruiting him as well."

Tsunade agreed with the reasoning behind Naruto's decision. She smiled slightly when thinking about Choji and Ayame's new relationship. She had grown extremely close to all of the 11 and the Sand Siblings; seeing them as her grandchildren or her actual children with a few of them, Naruto and Temari especially since neither had a mother or any relatives besides siblings.

Naruto continued on, "Shino was not chosen because I know he wanted to take another gennin team this year since he has a cousin graduating with this class. I did not pick Hinata for two reasons. The first is because she and I are helping her sister and my former team get ready for the jonin exams this year, and a new ANBU has zero free time. The second reason is Hinata wants to work on some of her original jutsu's and create a few more combined water and lightning attacks also since she just mastered her secondary nature of lightning a few months ago, and I know from personal experience that having a lot of nature manipulation experience helps more than you can imagine while in ANBU. "

He stopped to breathe and collect his thoughts before continuing, "TenTen wasn't picked because she only has one of her chakra natures developed fully, but is working on drawing out the second nature. Like I said before the more you know, the easier time you have while in ANBU, especially at the beginning. Also I didn't pick her because Temari wants to learn kenjutsu from her since I cannot teach her myself. Finally I did not pick Sakura because she is not on par with the rest of us and would either get herself or her entire squad killed on a mission, and I cannot allow that loss of life because of inexperience and incompetence." Naruto braced himself for the yelling that he knew was coming.

As if on cue Tsunade turned red and the vein in her forehead looked ready to burst before she unleashed her fury, "WHY IN KAMI'S NAME WOULD YOU SAY THAT FOR!!?? SHE IS THE BEST MEDIC IN KONOHA AND HAS SURPASED ME WHEN I WAS IN MY PRIME!!!!!!!!!! SO YOU BETTER HAVE A DAMN GOOD REASON BEFORE I BREAK EVERY BONE IN YOUR BODY… TWICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Tsunade finished while taking deep breaths to calm herself down all the while cracking her knuckles threateningly.

After Naruto peeled himself off the back of his chair, he started to explain. "If you have calmed down now I will be happy to explain." He received a stiff nod, "Ok. Now while Sakura is a fantastic medic, her skills are limited to one field only…"

Naruto was about to continue but Tsunade interrupted, "But Lee is specialized in just one area and you still recommended him." She pointed out with a slight smug satisfaction.

"Yes he is, however Lee does not have a choice in the matter since he cannot form chakra. But he has become very skilled with various weapons over the years so it makes up for it." Naruto finished with a small smile on his face while leaning back in his chair, sure that his logic could not be faulted.

Tsunade could see, although begrudgingly, that she had been out smarted. However it did not stop her from further advocating on her student's behalf, "I see you're point Naruto, but Sakura has other skills besides medical related jutsu. She has the taijutsu she learned from Lee combined with her strength technique as well."

Naruto nodded in agreement, "Yes that's true, but Baa-chan if you take away her medical jutsu and her strength, then she has basic taijutsu without a true form or personal style, academy basic jutsus, and summoning. An academy student has a shot at beating her. That is not going to cut it."

Tsunade knew he was right, but she was grasping at straws anyway, "But she still has all of her other jutsu's so what is the problem?!"

Now Naruto was getting irritated with this discussion. Exasperated he continued, "The problem is that she has not completed the criteria for entrance. You know that a shinobi must be at least a high A-rank to an S-rank rated Jonin with complete mastery of their two chakra elements, and at least one original jutsu for each element. It's just a bonus if they can combine the two elements for a jutsu. Sakura was the last one of us to reach Jonin, and the last I checked her rank is only a B-rank. She just got added to the bingo books six months ago where the rest of us have been in there since we were Chunins!!!!! She is not even a 'flee on site' order either. Not to mention that she does not take criticism well, or the fact that she questions orders from her commanders while on a mission. That kind of shit will get you and your squad killed while in the field!! Finally she has not mastered her two elements, hell she doesn't even know what her main one is let alone the second!!!!!" He finished while throwing his hands in the air over the whole thing since it was a pointless argument in the first place.

Tsunade could see that he was right. He was only doing this so she did not get herself killed. So before she replied she made a mental note to talk to Sakura and train her in advanced shinobi arts so she could eventually be put into ANBU. "Alright I can see your point. I will help her get up to par with the rest of you. Hopefully in a year she will be ready."

Naruto relaxed when Tsunade finally gave in to his way of thinking. "Thanks Baa-chan for seeing it my way. Now I want the notices sent out tomorrow, but the recruits are not to report to headquarters until after our week vacation is finished."

She nodded, "That is fair. Who is going to be overseeing the exam?"

"I will, but Yamato will be the one they see and think will be Captain. That way if someone does not pass, they won't know who the true Captain is. I will step forward at the end and place the tattoos since Yamato cannot do that yet. We all will be in masks, uniforms, and robes while using our code names during the exam so no identities will be revealed until the end." Naruto laughed quietly to himself imagining his friends' reactions when they saw him after they passed since he knew without a doubt that they would.

Tsunade was pleased how the exams were going to be conducted. "Well that's everything we needed to discuss for today. You can go if there isn't anything else?"

Naruto was about to ask something when he say the clock, "Shit…I have to go Baa-chan I have somewhere to be. See you tomorrow when we all meet up. Later." and with that he stood up and vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Tsunade looked dumbfounded by Naruto's behavior but just shrugged it off. "Back to this damn paperwork…"

XxxxX

Temari had just finished her shower and was now standing in her closet trying to decide on something to wear. After another five minutes of staring blankly over her dresses she snapped, "Oh fuck it!!!" and with that said she closed her eyes, reached out, and grabbed the first one her hand landed on. Temari opened her eyes and was pleased with her selection. The dress in question was a black, halter-style dress with an open back and a plunging neckline. The skirt was longer in the back so it formed a small train, and was slit up both sides to about mid-thigh. She quickly put it on so she could finish getting ready. After tying the strap around her neck, she decided on a pair of strappy, blood red four-inch heels to complete her outfit.

Once she was fully dressed, she headed to her weapons rack before leaving the closet. This again caused her to stare blankly over her weapons, "Well I need at least one weapon, but what to pick…fans… no, too big and bulky. Sword maybe, no I have no where to put it, plus I can't fight with it yet. I know, a dagger. No can't really conceal that in this dress." Temari stopped her musings for a minute and considered changing dresses, until her eyes landed on her kunai pouch. "That will work perfectly and I won't have to change cloths either." So with that Temari quickly put it on her right thigh and secured it with tape.

Temari finally emerged from her closet to do her make-up, hair, and jewelry. While she was picking out her make-up, her mind began to wander to earlier that afternoon when she had made a decision about tonight's events…

_Flashback_

_Temari had been reading for about an hour after Naruto left for the council meeting. So to change things up since she was tired of reading, she decided to go up to her study and write a message to Gaara about finding any sword style scrolls in their family vault._

_After she wrote the message and summoned Jade to deliver it for her, Temari looked out the window at the view of the gardens. _

'_I think I could use a walk.' she thought to herself and disappeared in a swirl of sand. Once she appeared at the entrance, Temari walked along the path. She saw that not much had changed since Naruto had first designed them when he was eighteen._

_When Naruto got the estate at fifteen the gardens had been a mess since no up-keep had been done for at least sixteen years. So in-between missions and whatever else he had to do, Naruto and most of their friends, herself and siblings included, had helped to clean them out since they were massive before the group decided to expanded them. It took about a year and half to finish the job, but it was worth it since you could see the original pathway, arches, and other architectural features that Naruto's parents and grandparents had added._

_So after the clean-up had been finished, Naruto started to design the gardens by himself. He did not let anyone help, or see what he was planning until they were complete. It took another year and half before they were allowed to see them, and when they did, it left them all speechless. Everyone of the 11 and sand siblings had a section designed specifically for them._

_The first section is Sakura's with five huge cherry blossom trees. Next is Ino's with every single flower you can think of depending on the season. Shikamaru's is next with soft grass on a hill with nothing else surrounding it so it is perfect for cloud watching. Choji's comes after that with boulders and butterfly attracting flowers. Hinata's is one of Temari's personal favorites because it is the most relaxing with a weeping willow beside a koi pond. Shino's section has lots of places for bugs of all kinds to live. Kiba's is a patch of dogwood trees. Gaara's is a huge sand garden with a few rocks. Kankuro's section has shrubs shaped to look like his puppets. Lee's section is extremely tall grass which hides a very intricate fountain. Tenten's section is tiger lilies and snap-dragons. Neji's section is a large tree that was left untouched completely so fate decides where it goes and what it does since Neji took his fate in his own hands. Finally the last section is Temari's which is filled with nothing but rose bushes and is very open so the wind is funneled through constantly and the scent of roses can be smelled throughout the whole garden._

_This is her all time favorite section because it feels like that she just belongs here and is at peace. Temari walked off the path and over to a hidden bench that was right in the center of her garden. While she was relaxing, Temari began to think about how she could not wait to see her friends, how exciting it would be to see them so often, and how much she loved being in Konoha in general._

_After another five minutes of random musing, Temari just let the peace of her garden completely take over her. She leaned back and closed her eyes to let the sounds and smells fully relax her. The only thought that came to her mind was "_This is almost as relaxing as this morning in bed with Naruto…_"_

_Once Temari registered the thought her eyes shot open, she leaned forward with her arms resting on her legs in a thinking pose, and she was in deep thought once again. Why did this morning have to be a one time thing? After all, she had always wanted a romantic relationship with Naruto and this new assignment would be the perfect chance. Also they were going out tonight to celebrate anyway so she could ask him after dinner since they would do something afterword. Plus Temari realized just how tired of being alone she really was, and she wanted to end that feeling tonight no matter what._

_So with her resolve set on what to do, Temari planned on dressing very sexy to help get her point across before the actual talk. However one thought lingered in the back of her mind, did he love her like she loved him? Temari did not know, she hoped so, but she would find out soon enough._

_So with a glance up at the sky, Temari stood up and vanished in a swirl of sand to start getting ready._

_End Flashback_

Temari was putting the finishing touches on her eyes with silver shadow, black eyeliner, and mascara before moving on to her hair and jewelry. She decided to wear her hair up in an elegant twist to show off her neck and back. She looked through her hair sticks and found a pair that were carved from long pieces of jade with a very unique pattern. Temari quickly twisted her hair up and secured it with the sticks before moving on to jewelry.

After a few minutes of rifling through her case, she found what she was looking for. She put on the a pair of long, diamond earrings that ended about an inch from her shoulders with a long necklace that stopped about two inches from the top of her dress. The necklace had a silver chain with a medium sized rose in full bloom carved out of jade acting as the pendant. It had a diamond in the center.

Once Temari deemed herself ready she sprayed a little jasmine scented perfume on and looked in the full length mirror. After a few minutes of making sure everything was in the right place, she appraised herself, _'Damn… I look hot!!!!! I barely recognize myself. If this doesn't get him to drool I don't know what will.'_ After another few minutes of staring at herself she looked at the clock, "Okay, it's 7.30. Better head down and wait on Naruto."

With that Temari gave herself one last look and walked out into the hall. She could hear noises from Naruto's room so she knew he was back finally, but for how long she didn't know. Once Temari was downstairs, she decided to wait in the kitchen since it had the best view of the stairs. She sat down on a bar stool, faced the stairs, crossed her legs, and waited for Naruto to come down.

She didn't have to wait long.

Temari had been sitting there a whole five minutes before she heard movement on the stairs. She heard him speaking on his way down, "Temari, you ready to go? Where are you?"

She responded in a slightly sexy voice thinking, _'Might as well match my attitude with the dress…'_ "I'm in the kitchen and yes I'm ready."

Naruto appeared around the corner and she could not help the little bit of drool that came out of her mouth. Her last thought before her brain shut down was, _'Dear Kami, if we did not have places to be tonight…'_ Naruto was like a living example of what every female shinobi wanted in a guy. He was wearing a form fitting, dark grey button down shirt with the first three buttons open to show of his toned chest. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, showing off his arms. A pair of black dress pants that clung to all the right places with matching black shoes as well. He had one of his swords hung off his right hip like a good shinobi.

While Temari was ogling Naruto, he was too shocked to even form a thought by her appearance to even notice. When he came around the corner he was speechless to say the least. She was the most beautiful, sexy woman he had ever seen. The way she was sitting was nearly his undoing alone. Temari's dress was parted due to the slits and it fell around her legs perfectly, exposing her long tanned legs. Her kunai pouch visible on her right leg which just added to her overall appeal. The top part of her dress was not helping the situation either since he could see the top part of her very ample chest which was accentuated by the rose pendant.

After about what felt like an hour, Naruto finally spoke up, "Wow, Hime you look gorgeous."

That statement finally snapped Temari out of her trance and responded, "You don't look to bad yourself Sweetie." She stood up and allowed her dress to fall back in place before she moved toward Naruto. She saw him swallow thickly while watching her dress fall around her legs and hit the floor in the back, _'Mission Accomplished'_ was all she thought as she stood directly in front of him. Her heels making them the same height. She looked him in the eye and said, "We need to go. Wouldn't wanna be late now would we?" Temari finished while taking her hand and placing it on his chest. His heart was beating wildly under her hand.

Naruto managed to respond with a "No" before he got himself under control by thinking, _'If I can it make through dinner without jumping her, I will be the luckiest man alive!!!!!... Oh Kami I'll have to beat the men away with a damn stick!!!'_ He looked at his watch and saw they had five minutes to get halfway across Konoha. "If you don't mind I can get us their quickly since we have five minutes?"

"No, I don't mind since I _really_ do not want to run in this dress unless I absolutely had to. Are you going to do a shunshin?"

"Yes, since you don't know where we are going just hold on to my arm and I'll get us there."

Temari gladly stepped to his side and wrapped her arm around his and waited for the familiar sensation. A second later they both disappeared in a swirl of leaves and wind.

XxxxX

In front of the best and busiest steakhouse in Konoha, The Monarch, a swirl of wind and leaves appeared and out stepped a pair of very attractive and well-dressed blondes. Temari looked around to figure out where they were, "You brought us here?" She asked while looking at Naruto with wide eyes. This was the most expensive place in Konoha, but it was one of the only places were the 11 and company were treated like normal people and not demi-gods.

Naruto just grinned his foxy grin and stepped inside with Temari still on his arm, much to his delight. The pair went straight up to the host to get their table since it was exactly 7.45. Naruto and Temari stood there for a minute and the host never looked up or even acknowledged their presence. Finally, Naruto spoke up, "Excuse me."

The host finally looked up and seemed surprised that someone was in front of him, "Can I help you?" he said with an air of superiority.

Naruto just smiled pleasantly and replied, "Yes, we have a 7.45 reservation for this evening." While on the inside he was thinking, _'Must be new here. All the other staff treat us with respect. This is why I can't stand most civilians.'_ Temari was thinking the same thing. No one would be this rude to a shinobi, especially to one of the 11 and Sand Siblings.

The host just sighed heavily as if doing his job was too much of a bother. "Just let me check Sir." He was scanning the notebook in front of him while thinking, _'I'll just humor them for a minute and then send them packing…They aren't worth my time.'_ The host pretended to look for a second longer before looking back at Naruto, "I'm sorry Sir, but there are not any reservations listed for that time tonight. If you would like to make a new one, we could fit you in a few weeks from now." The pathetic little man finished with a self satisfied smirk on his face.

Temari could see that Naruto was starting to get annoyed, and frankly so was she. She decided to take over the situation before Naruto got pissed at the little man's actions. She gripped Naruto's arm tightly for a few seconds and he relaxed a little under her touch, so she looked over at the host, "There must be some mistake Sir. We made the reservation with the owner himself this morning. So if you could check again I would _greatly_ appreciate it, please." She said as sweetly as possible.

The host looked down his nose at her like she was dirt under his feet, "No, I will not look again Miss. Now if you will leave, I have other patrons to help."

Temari was about to ring this pathetic excuse for a human's neck before she heard a familiar voice, "Is their a problem up here Chang?"

Temari looked up and saw Choji's dad, Chozu, walking toward the now identified Chang.

Chang turned to his boss, "Yes Chozu-sama, these," he waved his hand at Naruto and Temari dismissively, "people refuse to leave after I told them they do not have a reservation and the women, " Temari started to glare a hole in the man's head, "insist that they made the reservation with you personally. I was just about to call ANBU when you arrived."

Chozu took one look at the man and laughed. After a few minutes he calmed down enough to talk without laughing in the man's face, "Chang do you know who exactly you were trying to throw out?" After receiving a shake of the head from the now extremely confused Chang, Chozu continued, "Well let me enlighten you since you are still relative new. I assume you have heard of the Konoha 11 and the Sand Sibling from Suna. Am I correct?"

Chang looked affronted, "Yes I have heard of them. Your son is one of them. But I don't see what that has to do with any…thing." At that moment realization, then fear became the dominating emotion on his face. He turned his head very slowly toward the pair of blondes and started sweating profusely while one thought passed through his mind, _'Oh My Kami!!! What have I done!!!!!!'_

Chozu spoke up after Chang seemed to have himself under control, "Let me introduce you to Namikaze Naruto of the 11 and Sabaku Temari the Kazekage's older sister. Also, they do have a reservation so I will show them to their table before you and I have a chat." He directed a little killing intent to get his point across before turning to the blondes, "If you would follow me, Naruto and Temari."

The trio walked off, but not before Temari directed a large amount of killing intent at the poor little man causing him to wet himself before passing out. She smiled happily and continued talking to Chozu. Once they reached the table Chozu waited until Naruto pulled out Temari's chair and they both sat down before speaking, "I am truly sorry for that. Chang is new here and thinks he is better than everyone else. He will not make the same mistake twice. As an apology, sake is on me tonight."

Naruto spoke up, "Thanks Chozu, but you do not have to that."

Chozu just waved him off, "Nonsense, think of it as a gift for putting the civilian council on notice the other day." They both laughed about that. "Your waiter will be with you shortly. And Temari nice to see you again." With that he walked off to chew a certain host out.

Naruto and Temari just looked at each other for a moment before Temari spoke up, "What happened with the civilian council?"

Naruto just shook his head, "Nothing really. They just thought that they were better than us. Not too unusual."

Temari just sighed, "I am really not looking forward to being on the council, but it can't be too bad."

Naruto just laughed and was about to respond before their waiter arrived. It was none other than Choji, "Hey Naruto.. Temari, long time no see." he said happily.

Temari quickly stood up and gave him a hug before Naruto gave him a typical 'bro hug'. Once they both sat back down Choji looked at Temari, "Wow girl, you look great. So how long are you staying for this time?"

Temari blushed slightly at the compliment, "Thanks Choji, you look good as well. I will be here for awhile. Naruto and I have new assignments, but we'll tell you tomorrow along with the others." Choji had not changed much since he was a chunin. He dressed like his dad and had his hair the same way also. The only differences were that he was taller, about 6'0, more muscular, and carried a wooden staff diagonally across his back when he was on duty. However tonight he wore basic server dress: black shirt, pants, and shoes.

Naruto spoke up, "I heard about your news too, but I'll wait for tomorrow for you to tell everyone. Do you know who's turn it is to pick because I know it isn't me?" The 11 usually took turns to choose where they went and what they did. They always sent summon messengers the day of with details.

Choji looked thoughtful for a minute, "I think it is Hinata, but I'm not really sure." He shrugged before continuing, "I guess we will find out in the morning. So what can I get you to drink since I hear it is on the house tonight."

Naruto spoke up after looking at Temari, "Warm sake for me, please."

Temari nodded, "Same here."

Choji wrote down the order, handed them menus, and headed to get the drinks.

After deciding on what to order the pair just talked about what they did today after Naruto went to the 'council meeting.' A few minutes later Choji reappeared with their sake. After he placed it on the table, he took out his notepad, "What can I get for you both tonight?"

Temari ordered first, "For starters I would like an order of sashimi with a seaweed salad. Then an order of soba noodles with beef, and a side of spring rolls." She handed her menu to Choji after he wrote down her order.

Naruto ordered next, "First, I would also like an order of sashimi, but with a side of ginger. Also an order of beef barbecue and a side of spring rolls as well." Choji took the menus and went to place the order.

After he left, Naruto remembered something from before, "Temari how did you know that I requested reservations today?"

Temari laughed lightly before taking a sip of sake, "I know because Spark came to see me before he left on his assignment. He said something about delivering a message. I didn't think much of it until you told me about dinner before you left, so I put two and two together Sweetie."

Naruto just sighed over his summons actions. _'I'll have to have a talk with him about that.'_ They continued to just talk about this and that until their starters arrived.

After a few minutes of silence while they enjoyed their meals, Naruto spoke up again, "So how are your brothers doing?"

Temari laughed lightly before answering, "Good. Kankuro goes out all the time when he is not on a mission. Every time with a different girl. So no real change there." Kankuro had always been a partier, even before he turned sixteen and he did not show signs of stopping anytime soon either. "However Gaara has been acting strange lately."

That got Naruto's attention, "Strange how? Is his seal acting up?" he asked with a worried expression. When Gaara turned sixteen, Naruto and Jiraiya had fixed his seal so he had control and not Shukaku. This even allowed him to sleep without problems. However it had caused a few problems at first like he would loose control of his sand or it would affect his moods, but that had not happened in years.

Temari shook her head, "No, nothing like that. It's just he has been happier and a little loopy whenever he thinks no one is around. I even caught him in the kitchen a month ago dancing around and singing to himself." Temari had started laughing remembering that incident.

Naruto was laughing as well because to picture the stoic and all business Gaara dancing around and singing was just too much. After they both sobered up Naruto spoke, "Yeah I would say that is acting strange. Do you have any idea why though?"

Temari shook her head, "No, but I don't think Kankuro has noticed it. I really do not have a clue." She was about to say more when Choji arrived with the entrees.

"Do you need anything else?" Naruto motioned to Choji and he leaned down. His eyes widened before he straightened back up, "Sure thing Naruto. It will be ready when you are." and he left quickly before Temari could question him.

So she turned her attention to Naruto, who was acting as innocent as possible, "What was that about?"

"Oh nothing and you will find out soon enough so no more questions." He finished with a foxy smile before returning to his meal.

Temari huffed in annoyance, and decided to try again but with a different tactic. She reached across the table and place her hand on Naruto's before speaking in a slightly seductive voice, "Sweetie," Naruto's head snapped up at the tone with slightly wide eyes, "can you please give me a little hint?" she finished with a sexy smirk.

Naruto gave her a dazed look before opening his mouth, but shook his head before speaking, "Nice try Hime, but you have to wait just a little bit longer."

Temari withdrew her hand and started eating again, "Fine. I'll be good and wait."

The pair continued their meals in silence and about thirty minutes later Choji arrived with a small box and handed it to Naruto before taking the money for the bill. Naruto stood up, offered a hand to Temari, and the pair walked outside. Once there Naruto turned to Temari, "Close your eyes Temari. The next stop is a surprise."

She did as she was asked before feeling the sensation of a shunshin envelop her.

XxxxX

**AN: **Whew… didn't think I had a 26 page chapter in me. Anyway hope this was worth the wait. I promise the next chapter will not take me this long to write and update. However I will try to have it done by the end of this month or beginning of August. My schedule is still sporadic so I have to write when I can find the time.

I feel the need to say something before I get comments about it. The whole ANBU and Tsunade scene has a purpose. There is a little foreshadowing in it for those who paid attention to it. So no flaming or gripping about how it was pointless filler. Also the slight Sakura bashing was kinda intentional, but it was necessary. I like Sakura as a character, but in my story she is about to get a lot better.

Next thing if you have any ideas just drop me a review or a pm and I will see if I can work them in. Same goes for any questions as well.

On that note, I would like to get some ideas about possible ANBU masks for Ino, Shikamaru, Lee, and Neji. I have a few ideas, but I would like to know what you guys think since this is your story too. Just shoot me a review or pm with the idea for whom and why. It will be a few chapters before that comes into play so let me know.

Again sorry for the long wait and I hope it lived up to everyone's expectations. Don't forget to review. Until next time.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer**: Don't own, except plot and original ideas.

**AN**: Welcome back for the much anticipated chapter 7. Sorry that I could not get this out sooner, but life happens. Also I was working on another story that my muse demanded that I start. So it pushed back this update. I am going to try and get on an update schedule of every two weeks, but I'll have to see. Hopefully I will be able to do that.

Anyways thanks for the reviews and the few that sent ideas about ANBU masks. Enjoy…

XxxxX

**Chapter 7**

A swirl of wind and leaves appeared in an unknown spot inside Konoha. Once it had dissipated, it revealed a pair of blondes. Naruto quickly put his hand over Temari's eyes so she could not see where they were. "You have to keep your eyes closed. Just hang on to me and I'll take you where we need to go." He removed his hand to see that her eyes were indeed closed.

Temari was trying to figure out where she was but was coming up blank. There were no noises, except a slight breeze. This place felt familiar, but she could not place it right off. Temari did not get to ponder long over it because Naruto had taken hold of her arm and was leading her to places unknown.

Naruto stopped once he got to where he was going and sat the box he held down on the ground before speaking to Temari, "Open your eyes Hime."

Temari did as she was asked and gasped at the view laid out before her. They were on top of the Hokage Monument with a fantastic view of Konoha laid out before them. The sun had set about an hour ago, but hundreds of lightning bugs were dancing around the sky, putting on a mini light show. She turned to Naruto, who had been studying her reaction, "This is so beautiful! Thank you for bringing me here." She leaned over and kissed his cheek before sitting down to enjoy the view.

Naruto did the same before picking up the box and opening it to reveal what was inside. He had gotten them their favorite dessert, assorted dango with chilled sake. Temari thanked him as he handed her a dish of sake and a stick of dango. They both ate quietly while enjoying the view and each other's company. While they ate, Temari spoke up, "Where exactly are we up here anyway?" She could not tell for herself since she had not been up here enough to know her way around like Naruto did.

Naruto swallowed a bit of strawberry dango before speaking, "On my Dad's head, but more specifically in his hair. I found this spot by accident one day when I was a chunin. It's secluded enough that someone else could walk right by and never notice us, but we have the best view."

Temari looked around and sure enough it was very secluded and hidden in between the spikes of rock that made up the Fourth's hair. They sat in silence while they finished up the sake and dango. Once they were finished, Naruto sat the box off to the side and wrapped his arm around her waist. Temari responded to the gentle touch by leaning into his side and sighing contently.

Naruto was about to speak, but Temari beat him to it. "You know I was almost like you and Gaara." Naruto looked at her, shocked by her sudden statement but did not ask what she meant because she continued, "What I meant to say was that I was almost the host for Shukaku."

Before she could continue Naruto spoke up, "Really? I did not know that."

"Yes really and no one knows, not even my brothers. The only reason I know is because my mother told me before she died. My father had it all planned out, but changed his mind during the last month of her pregnancy because I was a girl. He wanted a male host instead so he spared me. The only reason Kankoro was not chosen for it was that the spirit was not ready to be used yet since it had been removed recently." Naruto just sat there in stunned silence while listening to Temari, who was still staring out over Konoha.

"When Gaara started to lose his mind after our uncle tried to kill him, I tried to help him since it could have been me in that situation instead. I saw how he was feared and the various murder attempts that failed because our father feared him as well. All I could think about was how glad I was that it was not me in that situation. Eventually I pulled away just like everyone else; one person can only take so many death threats." Temari laughed a humorless laugh before continuing, "It went on like that until a certain blonde loud mouth wearing orange changed him for the better." She bumped her shoulder against his while looking at him with a smile of her face, which Naruto returned before tightening his grip around her waist.

Naruto decided to speak up, "Glad that I could be of service to you. But Temari, why did you tell me about it? I mean I'm glad you did, but shouldn't have you told your brothers instead?"

Temari shrugged slightly before answering, "I don't know really. I just felt that you would be the best person tell."

Naruto contemplated her answer while looking at her out of the corner of his eye. With the night sky back drop, stars, and full moon above, she looked like a fallen angel since her hair and skin glowed against the black of her dress in the moonlight. Naruto was preparing himself to broach the topic so with a passing thought of, '_Here goes nothing…_' He spoke, "You know, you are the first person that I have brought to this spot since I found it."

Temari turned slightly in his grasp so she could look at him easier, "Really? I would have thought that you would have showed it to someone before now."

"I never really wanted to, to be perfectly honest. This is one place that I can come and just clear my head; also no one can find me unless they really looked. I guess you could call it my special spot." He sighed before continuing, "I guess I was just waiting for the right person to share it with." Naruto flashed Temari a grin and got one in response.

"Well I'm honored that you choose me. It really is a beautiful view." Temari turned her head to look out over the village once again.

"Yes the view really is breath taking." Naruto's eyes never leaving Temari. She blushed slightly in response when she turned back to realize that he was not talking about Konoha. Naruto turned so he was fully facing Temari; he took a deep breath to calm his nerves before speaking again, "I'm glad that I shared it with you too Temari. And in all honesty, I didn't want anyone else to know about it but you. You are very special to me, and I wanted to share something equally special, like what you told me earlier. Over the years you and I have become extremely close, closer than a lot of our friends that I have known since the academy. Especially in the last four years or so."

Naruto paused for second to steel his nerves, "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I fell in love with you. But with our obligations to our villages, it would have been impossible for us to be together until now. So would you like to give us a chance and see how it works out between us?" Naruto waited patiently for her answer, trying not to show just how nervous he really was about her answer.

Meanwhile Temari was trying to get her brain to function to form a response, her mind reeling with the information that they both have been in love with each for four years, once she got her thoughts in order she answered, "You're not the only one who fell in love Naruto. I have secretly been wishing for us to be together for four years. But like you said it would have been impossible until now. So my answer is yes, I would like very much for us to be together."

Naruto released the breath that he did not realize he was holding, picked up her hand, and kissed each of her long fingers before speaking, "Thank you Hime. You just made me one of the happiest men alive."

Temari placed the hand that Naruto was not holding on his face, cupping his whiskered cheek, "Your welcome Sweetie."

They both stayed in that position unmoving, looking into each others eyes. Ever so slowly they leaned toward one another, never taking their eyes off each other, until their lips met. Slowly their lips started to move against each other, tentatively at first until they found the right rhythm. As the kiss grew in intensity, Temari brought her hands around Naruto's neck and threaded them into his hair, while his arms slipped around her waist and splayed across her bare back. Naruto then pulled Temari onto his lap so she was straddling his legs. As they deepened the kiss, Temari moaned against Naruto's mouth. Desire coursing through them like fire.

They broke the kiss then their lungs were burning for air. Temari laid her forehead against Naruto's while they were catching their breath. However before either of them could calm down their breathing, their lips met again. This time it was not tentative and slow, but passionate and hungry. Naruto licked Temari's lips, asking for entry, which she readily gave. There was a short battle for dominance, but Naruto prevailed and started to explore her wet cavern. Temari tasted slightly sweet like cherries with a hint of tartness behind it, like lemon. It was not unpleasant in the least, but highly satisfying and slightly arousing. Naruto reluctantly pulled back his tongue and coaxed Temari's to explore.

She readily took the invitation and started to explore Naruto's mouth. Like Naruto, Temari instantly was addicted to his flavor. It was spicy and rich, very masculine in her opinion. Once she had had her fill, Temari curled her tongue around Naruto's, inviting it to play.

Naruto stroked Temari's tongue in languid strokes while curling and uncurling his around hers. He took pride in the low moan he pulled from Temari. After a few more moments, Temari had to break the kiss because she was getting light headed from lack of air.

Naruto leaned his head back slightly to take in Temari's appearance. Her face was flushed, lips slightly swollen from his attention, and her eyes were slightly glazed over with barely restrained want. While Naruto had been appraising her, Temari was doing the same thing as well. Naruto's hair was slightly more unruly due to her hands being in it, he was also flushed from lack of air, and had a look of desire in his eyes. That look alone made her heart skip a beat since Temari knew that she was the one that put it there

Once Temari had regained her breath she summed up what both were thinking, "Wow."

Naruto chuckled, "I agree, wow."

Temari laughed as well before they both stood up and walked out of the secluded spot to the top once again; never releasing one another. Naruto turned to Temari, "You ready to go home Hime?" Temari simply nodded before they disappeared in swirl of leaves.

XxxxX

Naruto and Temari appeared in front of Temari's bedroom door. "I guess this is good night then Sweetie." Temari leaned in and kissed Naruto once again. Their lips moving together with ease. It was sweet and slow, the hunger having faded from earlier.

Naruto broke the kiss after a few moments, "Good night Hime. I love you."

"I love you too Sweetie." Temari could not help but smile at finally getting to say it out loud. Naruto returned it before letting go of her hand so Temari could open the door to her room and go inside.

Once she shut the door, Temari leaned against it and sighed, truly content for the first time in a long while. Exhaustion finally settled in, and Temari got ready for bed. She put on the same sleep set she wore last night, breathing in Naruto's scent that still lingered there from the night before.

When she was finally ready for bed, Temari turned off the light and lay down. Instead of her head hitting her pillows, it hit the mattress. "What the hell? Where are my pillows?" Temari reached over and flipped on the light to search for them. After coming up empty in her search, she remembered where they were. With a few choice words about having to get back up, Temari grabbed her robe that matched her sleepwear and left her room.

Naruto had his door shut, but she heard movement indicating that he was still up. Temari knocked and heard a 'come in' from inside the room. She opened the door to find Naruto turning down his bed.

Naruto turned to face Temari as she walked into the room. "What's up Hime?"

"I forgot that my pillows were still on your bed until I laid down. So I came to get them." Temari said while waving her hand at where they sat against the headboard.

Naruto walked up to where she stood in front of his bed and wrapped his arms around her waist while Temari draped her arms around his neck, "Really? Is that so?" Temari nodded before Naruto leaned down to capture her lips in a kiss.

Temari broke the kiss after a few moments, "Yes it is." She kissed him again before Naruto could respond.

When they broke apart, Naruto spoke with a smirk on his face, "You know Hime, you don't have to take them back to your room."

Temari arched a blonde eyebrow, "I don't?" Her tone slightly teasing.

"No you don't."

"Well, what should I do then Sweetie?"

Naruto's smirk widened slightly, "Well you could just stay in here with me since you are already here along with your pillows. What do you say?"

Temari pretended to think about the question before answering, "Well since I'm already here and it is a little walk back to my room. I guess that I could stay here with you." Her tone slightly teasing.

Naruto laughed before he replied, "Good. Now let's go to bed." Temari nodded before letting go of Naruto and walking around to what was now her side of the bed and climbing in. Naruto followed a few seconds later. They turned toward another and wrapped an arm around each other before Naruto flipped the covers over them. In a few minutes both were asleep in a lovers embrace.

XxxxX

At six in the morning most of Konoha was just starting to wake up, but inside the Konoha Hospital two medic-nins were begging for sleep. Ino and Sakura were doing their rounds before the end of their shift.

Ino sighed tiredly, "I should have just gone home after my mission, but noooo I didn't wanna go home to an empty apartment. Thought I'd pick up a shift and get ahead on my hours for the month." Tsunade required all medic-nin, no matter what, to log a certain amount of hours at the hospital every month so they could stay current. They did not have a set schedule so they could pick up a shift anytime when they were not on a mission.

Sakura finished recording the vitals of a poison patient before leaving the room with Ino, "Yeah, well I can't blame you. I would have done the same thing. Where is Shino anyway?"

"He had a B-rank scouting mission. Don't know the details, but he should be back by now." Ino cracked her stiff neck before checking on a chakra exhaustion patient.

Sakura waited for her best friend to finish before asking another question, "How did your mission go?"

Ino yawned before answering, "Good, it was a simple mission. Easiest I've had in a while."

"What was it?"

"A C-rank delivery and retrieval."

Sakura gave her friend an odd look, "Why would Tsunade send you on a low level C-rank mission?"

Ino shot her friend a look, "I asked the same question when she assigned it to me. Turns out that it was given to a rookie gennin squad, but their jonin sensei got pulled for another mission. I was the only one available at the time to fill-in. It was simple enough, deliver a package to a village about a day away, and receive the payment before returning the money to a merchant in Konoha."

Sakura nodded, "How did it go?"

"Fine, except that the gennin about drove me up the wall with questions about all of us."

Sakura laughed at the mental picture of Ino getting grilled by twelve year olds. "What do you expect? I mean the academy teaches them about us for crying out loud. Of course they are going to ask questions since our reputation precedes us."

Ino just nodded as they entered the locker room where everyone stored their equipment while on duty. Once everything was back in place, Ino and Sakura exited and headed toward the front desk. Sakura spoke up, "So is it Hinata's turn this time?"

Ino nodded, "Pretty sure it is. I can't wait for the time off and to catch up. I heard that Temari is here as well."

Sakura was about to respond when a nurse came running toward them as they signing out. Once the woman caught her breath she spoke, "Ino, there is someone waiting to see you before you leave."

Ino looked shocked, "Who is it?"

"I don't know. They are an ANBU."

This shocked both Ino and Sakura. Ino recovered quickly, "Where are they?"

"In the waiting room."

Ino thanked the nurse, who went back to work. She turned to Sakura, "You wanna come?"

Sakura just nodded, curiosity getting the better of her, before following Ino into the waiting room. As they walked in, Ino and Sakura immediately spotted who they were looking for. Sakura studied the person, trying to see if she recognized them. The ANBU was a male and was wearing a boar mask. Everything else was covered by the white, hooded cloak the man wore, identifying him as a captain. He stood up from his chair and walked up to Ino before speaking, "Are you Ino Yamanaka?"

Ino nodded, "Yes, what can I do for you ANBU-san?"

The boar masked ANBU produced a scroll from within his cloak, "I was told to deliver this to you." He handed Ino the scroll before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

Sakura and Ino looked at it curiously. It was a normal message scroll, but there was a strange seal placed on it that neither had seen before. Sakura all but yelled at Ino, "Well open it already!!"

"Alright, alright I'm opening it." Ino broke the seal and unrolled it to reveal the message which both started to read.

_Ino Yamanaka,_

_You have been selected as one of ten new possible ANBU recruits. Please report to ANBU headquarters in one week's time. Bring all of your gear to take the entrance exam. Present this scroll when reporting in for verification. Good luck._

_P.S. - Sakura Harano is to report to Hokage-sama immediately._

Ino and Sakura looked at each other before Ino started celebrating, "Oh My Kami!! I can't believe that I got accepted into ANBU!!!! I can't wait to tell everyone tonight!! I have to tell Shino and my parents!!"

Sakura was shocked that she had received orders from a scroll, but even more so that Ino had been accepted. She turned toward an ecstatic Ino, "Congrats, I'm happy for you. I need to report in. I'll see you later tonight." She heard Ino say thanks before running off to tell her good news, apparently exhaustion totally forgotten.

Sakura left the hospital in a daze, heading toward the Hokage Tower on auto-pilot, obviously deep in thought. '_I'm happy for Ino, but I can't help be jealous. I want to be in ANBU so bad!! Ino has worked hard and deserves the promotion, but I've worked hard too... Wait, her letter said ten recruits. There are still nine spots. Maybe that is why Tsunade wants to see me, to give me the promotion in person. That must be it!!!_'

Sakura headed toward the Hokage Tower with renewed hope. However little did she know that the nine other recruits had already received their letters…

XxxxX

Sakura entered Tsunade's office to find her teacher buried under paperwork. Which was not a total surprise or out of the ordinary. Shizuna stood beside her, holding another stack of papers for her to supposedly sign. Sakura cleared her throat, "You wanted to see me Tsunade-sensei?"

Tsunade looked up from the paper in front of her, "Ah Sakura, yes I did. Please take a seat." As Sakura sat down, Tsunade turned to Shizuna, "You can take those mission reports to be filed. I've gone over them already and finalized them as well."

Shizuna nodded, "Of course Tsunade-sama." She shut the door on her way out, trying not to drop the two foot high stack of papers in her arms.

Tsunade turned back to her other apprentice, trying to decide how to broach the subject at hand. She decided to ease into the matter, "So I take it that you and Ino were finishing up your shift before you came here?"

Sakura nodded, "Yes we were. Nothing exciting, just routine injuries. Well, that is until Ino received her visitor and got her recruitment letter."

Tsunade nodded at the information, seeing the opening, she took it, "I guess that Ino was very excited about the news." She was trying her best to stay neutral about the situation.

"Yes she was. Ino started celebrating in the waiting room before she ran out to tell her parents and Shino. I doubt that she even heard me congratulate her." Sakura giggled slightly, remembering what took place about ten minutes before.

"So you were happy for Ino then?"

Sakura nodded slowly, not sure where this conversation was going, "Of course I was. Why wouldn't I be? She worked hard for this and deserves it."

"That was exactly the reason I had hoped to hear from you Sakura. You have worked harder than any other medic that I have trained, even Ino, Hinata, Neji, and Moegi." Tsunade leaned back in her chair and folder her hands in front of her before continuing, "That is why I have asked you to come here today."

Sakura blushed lightly at the praise she just received, "Thank you Tsunade-sensei." She could barely hold back her excitement since Sakura thought she knew what was coming next.

However that excitement turned to confusion when Tsunade asked her next question, "Do you remember, Sakura, exactly why you wanted to become a medic in the first place?"

Sakura was immediately taken back to a mission that had almost killed Naruto and herself because she was completely useless in the fight that had occurred in the snake's lair. She nodded before answering, "Yes, it was because I did not want to be useless when my friends needed help."

"Do you think that you have accomplished that goal Sakura?" Tsunade hated to do this, but it was what was best for her student.

"Yes I think I accomplished it a long time ago, before I became a chunin. What exactly is this about?"

Tsunade sighed, "It's about the ANBU recruits that made the cut and those who did not." Sakura was about to ask another question, but Tsunade ignored her and continued, "Yesterday the Captain and I were discussing the ten that were picked and the others that were not. Most I agreed with because he was right, but one I did not. Do you know who that person was?"

Sakura shook her head, "No, I don't."

Tsunade sighed, "That person was you, Sakura."

Sakura was shocked to say the least, "Me!?"

Tsunade nodded, "Yes you, Sakura. I defended your nomination with everything I could think of, but it did not change his mind in the slightest. He said that you were not skilled enough and would get yourself and whatever squad you were on killed because of it." She waited for the blow up that was about to occur, and right on cue it did.

Sakura screamed, "WHAT!!!!! How can he say that about me!!!! How dare he undermine my skills, I'm the best medic in Konoha!! He would be lucky to have me in ANBU! He does not even know me." As she calmed down, Sakura sat back down. She had jumped up and started pacing when she started yelling.

Tsunade just waited for Sakura to calm down, '_Ooh you know him better than you think Sakura..._' Out loud she continued, "I told him the same thing. You are the best medic, but that is all you are, a medic."

Sakura was confused, "But Ino is a medic and she got into ANBU. Hinata, Neji, and Moegi are also medics. Just like me."

Tsunade sighed, hoping that Sakura would be smart enough to see it on her own, "Yes they are all medics, but they are combat shinobi first. Where you are not and never really were to begin with."

"I don't understand what you're saying, sensei?"

Tsunade resisted the urge to slap Sakura upside the head, "For Kami's sake Sakura!! Think about it, you are a smart girl. Let me explain it to you. Ino, Hinata, Neji, Moegi, Shizuna, and even I had combat training first. We all choose to be medics second. My reason was so that I could help the people I cared about. Shizuna's was for the same reason after her uncle was killed. Ino's was so she could be more of use to her team besides her family jutsus and to help her chakra control for more advanced jutsus. Hinata's was so she could boost her confidence, learn about healing balms, and poisons. Neji did it because his team needed a medic and he was the only choice. Moegi did it for the same reasons that Neji did. However your reasons were because you had no other skills to help your team and you were a hindrance because of it."

Sakura sputtered for a moment before she regained her composure, "I am a combat shinobi as well." Her confidence in herself was shaken for the first time in years.

Tsunade saw her confidence was slipping, but she continued on, "No, you are not Sakura. Before I trained you, all you could do were academy level jutsu, basic weapon use, and great chakra control. Which you only had because you had so little of it to begin with. You were dead last out of the 11 from the start." It hurt Tsunade to do this, but she had to get Sakura to admit it to herself or she would never improve.

Sakura sat there and thought about what Tsunade was saying. It was all true, no matter how much she tried to deny it. After a few moments, she finally spoke, "But I'm not that way anymore, and I'm not dead last." Her confidence returning slightly, however it only lasted until Tsunade answered her.

"Actually Sakura, you still are." She saw Sakura about to start arguing, but kept on going, "I can see that you don't agree with me, but let's look at this more closely, shall we? You have no taijutsu style whatsoever. You have not even attempted to learn any non-medical related jutsu except for my chakra-enhanced strength and summoning. Also you have a high ability to do genjutsu, but once again you never made an effort to learn any. You could have trained with a weapon beside shuriken and kunai, like a few of the others have, but you have not. You also have no clue what your chakra element is or how to master it; along the same level, you have no original jutsu's or even a basic idea of how to create one."

Tsunade paused for a moment to let the information truly sink in before continuing, "Let's change gears and look at your career as a whole shall we. You were the last of the 11 to make chunin and jonin as well. Also the last one to make it into the bingo book whereas the others have been in it since they were chunins. You had a chance to become a jonin sensei and you were even given a team, but I had so many complaints from your _own students_ that I had to reassign you since you had nothing to teach them besides the bare basics."

That last statement shocked Sakura because she had not known that. Tsunade had told her that she was going to be teaching medics instead of her gennin team because Shizuna had other duties and could not teach because of it. Sakura never knew that the real reason was because her students had requested it. That hurt more than any of the other things Tsunade had said.

Unaware of her students shocked state, Tsunade continued, "I could go on, but I think you get the point Sakura. Now that we have covered all of that, we can move on to the real reason that I called you here."

"What real reason?"

Tsunade smirked at the confused look on Sakura's face, "You did not think that I called you here just to tell you that you sucked at being a shinobi?" When Tsunade saw no reply from her student, she laughed lightly, "Of course not Sakura, I just needed you to realize that you still had not completed your goal yet. The real reason that I called you here was so that I could help you get better."

Sakura shot straight up in her seat from her previous position of resting on her knees, "Help me? How?"

"By training you of course. How else? That is if you agree to it."

Tsunade's answer came in a matter of seconds, "Of course I agree. I do want to get into ANBU just like the rest of us. Just tell me what I need to do Sensei." She could easily see the resolve to get better in her students eyes.

Tsunade leaned forward and rested her arms across her desk, "Alright then. Here is how this is going to work. First off we are going to work on taijutsu. Ask Gai to help you since the 'Iron Fist Style' will work best with your strength since Lee will be too busy to help you. Also you need to learn one defensive and attack jutsu for each element. After that we can go from there."

Sakura nodded at what she needed to do, "Is there anything else that I need to work on too?"

"Yes I am going to help you to learn basic strategy as well since you need to improve. It will help your leadership skills since I can count the missions you have lead on one hand. In addition to all of this you still have to keep your hours up at the hospital and still go on missions as well. This training does not excuse you from that."

"I understand. When do I start?"

"After your vacation. You are dismissed." Sakura stood up and bowed before vanishing in a poof of smoke.

Tsunade stared at where Sakura was until a second ago, "This was for the best. Thanks Naruto."

XxxxX

Naruto was having the best night sleep that he could remember. However it was being interrupted by something poking him in the face. He slowly opened his eyes to find the source of the annoyance.

On his chest was a small raccoon with a Suna headband around its neck and a backpack on its back, and right next to it was a grey wolf cub with a Konoha headband and a chunin vest on. Naruto rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not seeing things, but they were still there.

He whispered so he would not wake up Temari, "What do you two want?"

The raccoon reached into his backpack and pulled out a small scroll with Temari's name on it. It handed the scroll to Naruto before poofing back to the summon world. The cub did the same, but instead of disappearing, it jumped off the bed and ran out the door. Not done with its job yet. Naruto looked at the two scrolls that he now had. He sat the one to Temari, which he assumed was from Gaara, on the night stand before opening the other one addressed to him.

_Naruto,_

_Come to Star Fire Sushi tonight at 8.00pm. Meet out front like normal. Wear full gear like always. Bring Temari if she is here. See you both then._

_Hinata_

Naruto read it again before setting it down beside the other scroll. He looked at the clock, it was 9.00. Naruto decided to go for a run before doing a bit of training. He looked at the still sleeping Temari, who was hidden under the blankets. Naruto smiled slightly while brushing some hair out of her eyes; he leaned down and kissed her forehead before getting up to start his day.

About ten minutes later, Naruto was dressed and attaching his chakra weights before pumping enough into them to equal about one-hundred pounds per limb. Once they were set, Naruto left.

About thirty minutes after Naruto got up, Temari woke up to find herself alone in bed. "Must have left to work out." She mumbled to herself while stretching like a cat. Temari was about to get up, when she noticed the two scrolls. She quickly read the one from Hinata about tonight's plan. She smiled, happy about seeing her friends again. Temari then opened the scroll from Gaara, also happy that he replied to her so fast.

_Temari,_

_I found the scroll you were looking for. I sealed it at the end, just swipe blood on it. Hope it helps. See you in two months._

_Gaara_

She looked for the seal before biting her thumb and swiping blood on it. Three medium sized scrolls were released. Temari looked at each of them, trying to figure out why there were three. After a few minutes of studying them, she realized that each scroll was a different difficulty level. The first one was the basics and mechanics of the style, the second was refining and adding more complicated movements, and the third was the all of the advanced techniques along with refining again.

Excited about all of this, Temari left Naruto's room to get ready for a day of training with her sword, twin fans, and breaking in her new bladed and senbon fans. Then she could spend time with Naruto and see her friends. Yes today was a great day.

XxxxX

**AN**: Well here is chapter 7. Hope that it was worth the wait and everything you expected. Again sorry for the long wait.

Like I said at the top, I'm going to try and get on an update schedule of every two weeks. I'm trying to back log some chapters as well, but life can come up and destroy my plans.

Also please send me your ideas about ANBU masks. Even if it is just for one of the four. Just send me a review or pm with the idea for whom and why. It will be a few more chapters before I introduce it.

Please review. I would like to break 100 reviews before I post the next chapter, but I will not hold it if I don't. I do respond to reviews that are more than a few words long. As always, if you have any questions just review or drop me a pm and I will answer them the best I can without giving away anything.

Next time we get into some training and the 11 and company are introduced with a few surprises along the way. Also the rest of the pairings are introduced as well. Until next time.


	8. AN Please Read

Dear all of my Readers,

I'm sorry that this is not chapter eight, but I felt that I owed you guys some type of explanation since I promised a chapter in two weeks from when I posted chapter seven. I know that is has been well over the two week deadline, but in these last few weeks life has taken a down turn for me.

First was that I got sick due to allergies, and it is not easy to think, let alone write with a pounding headache. What I did write was utter crap, so I had to delete it.

Secondly, last week my Father was laid off from his job because of the economy. This alone was enough to stifle my muse for a little while, but compounded with everything else it was too much.

Thirdly the holidays are coming up soon as well and that drastically reduces my time as well. So it's a matter of finding a few hours a week to write.

Now the reason I am telling you all this is not for sympathy or anything else. I just felt like you all deserved a reason since I promised.

This is not a hiatus note or anything of the sort. I'm just going to be a while in posting the next chapter. I'm trying to get a few chapters done in advance so you guys won't have to wait as long between chapters. This also gives me the chance to get my muse to settle out because I'm starting a third story and have a fourth in the planning stages.

Expect to see chapter eight some time in November. Then after the first of the year, I will get on a two week update schedule for good with a few chapters backlogged. I hope that you all understand my reasoning for doing this.

I'll take this down when I post chapter eight. Early Happy Halloween!!!!

Later,

Bswindle20


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